A Conflict of Interest
by PhantomPanther
Summary: In an act of retribution gone wrong, the fate of Kaiba's life now hangs in the balance of his nemesis's victory and that of a mysterious, refined stranger. In the deadly chessboard game that is Duelist Kingdom, one must ultimately decide if pursuing vengeance is worth risking their life for. Slightly AU/Slow Burn/Lime/Squick
1. Of Demons and Dragons

Hello everyone. This story is something of a rehash of an older story that was gasping its' last dying breaths over ten years ago. Back then, it was the writing of my former fifteen year old self and was irrefutably awful. Something about it, though, encouraged me to revive it, so I have had another crack at it, given it a more credible storyline (well, at least, _I_ think it is) and now, here we are. But before we begin, there are a few things to note:

\- This story is mildly AU, in that it is set in the anime version of Duelist Kingdom, but doesn't run quite to the original plot, so please don't call me out on that. Just try and roll with it.

\- I don't personally play duel monster cards, nor have I taken the time to learn much about the game, so I apologise in advance if the duelling scenes are substandard or simply don't make sense; feel free to let me know how to improve this!

\- This story is based, for the most part, on the life of my OC, and her relationship with, primarily, Kaiba, and is set from her point of view. However, other main characters are also integrated as much as possible and are crucial to the plot. If you are not a fan of OC's (I know many people aren't, and I am under no illusions that my OC may also fall into the "Mary Sue" stereotype – although I have tried hard not to make her a typical MS – I guess that is a matter of opinion) then at least give her a chance and read as far as this first chapter. If it's still not for you, then I shall bid you a respectful farewell.

\- This story _does_ contain a terrible cliché (okay, maybe a couple), which you will soon find out about, however it is crucial to the plot and it cannot be revoked. I'm sorry if this upsets you, but before you think "oh, HOW original", please know that I am already aware of this.

\- If you are interested in the law, and criminology, you may find this story interesting. I, myself, work at a distinguished law firm, and have tried to make these aspects of the story as authentic, factual and accurate as possible.

With that said and done, I'll wrap it up here and let you begin. Please be kind, or at the outside, constructive in your criticism, if you wish to leave a comment. I would love to hear from you :o}

Also - I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!

~ Phantom

 **A Conflict of Interest**

 **Chapter One**

 **Of Demons and Dragons**

The night was cold and clear and damp. Dew settled on the grass and the trees swayed in the midnight wind. A few laughs and shouts pierced the night sky in the distance from who I assumed were other duelists. I changed course slightly; the shouts were coming from ahead, and I was in no mind to become a part of their shenanigans. I preferred to travel alone, duel alone, succeed alone – as I had done most of my life – and I preferred to keep it that way. People always tended to complicate things and God knows I didn't have time for complications, especially not tonight. Not now, not ever. I had gotten too far for anything to impede on my plans, now.

Since arriving on the island, it seemed that I had unwittingly become something of a controversial subject. Those who had crossed my path had been shown no mercy, after all. Having said that, I did have a somewhat unfair advantage, having been gifted (or, should I say, _bribed_ by) some priceless artefacts from the creator himself. But they couldn't have known that. Nobody stood a chance, really. In truth, I was growing tired of this star-chip-collecting charade. The only beneficiary from it all was Pegasus himself – to buy him time before I made my way to the castle to break him with his own creations, and not without reason.

At least, however, I did have one thing in my favour in terms of collecting these star chips. Besides Pegasus himself, my main rival was on this island, somewhere. The one man who I had been longing to duel the last eight years of my duelling life – Kaiba Seto. Frankly, he was the only one worth my time when it came to duelling – as much as it grated on me to admit it. I glanced pleasingly down at the nine star chips that filled my duelling gauntlet. It hadn't taken much of my time. Only one more to go.

I continued my night-time escapade through the woods, subconsciously taking in the sounds of the night – the rustling of wild animals in the bushes and wind whistling through the trees, the sound of twigs breaking beneath my feet. A screech owl swooped overheard, screaming its cry, hunting its recognition down. Walking alone through the night not knowing exactly where I was going, but knowing I wasn't in any real danger, put me in a serene, dreamlike state. Still, I had to be on my guard. I could bump into Kaiba at any moment and had to be ready.

I hated to admit that I had a grossly unhealthy obsession with Duel Monsters. As a result of events in recent years – and the whole reason why I was here – I had spent long hours honing my skills. Obsession or not, I was a good duellist, and the other contestants on this island were beginning to have a taste of it. I had a few tricks up my sleeve that few others had the privilege of, and even then, they hadn't the knowledge or the power to use. In that respect, Kaiba was my match. Sure, he owned the legendary Blue Eyes White Dragon, but little did he know that I was the owner of another – and that's not all. Brains and money – okay, _and_ good looks – can only get you so far.

Chinese whispers had been circulating that Kaiba and I _had_ to be related. I was his long-lost sister. Long-lost cousin. Secret girlfriend. Even his _mother_. How the latter came about, I couldn't tell you. From what I had heard, anyway, Kaiba's parents were dead. Sure, I was a little older than Kaiba; closer in age to Pegasus, in fact. But his mother? Hardly.

More than anything, it was probably due to the similar persona we carried, although the media loved to sensationalise things. With regard to myself, much of it was only skin-deep. The fact that I refused to comment to the media during or after competitions and also happened to be a prominent businesswoman in my own right apparently made me an Ice Queen. Because of this, they then drew comparisons to Kaiba, notorious as much for his militant style of duelling as he was for his booming corporation. On the surface, it appeared that we were alike in this respect, but even if it were true, it was for differing reasons. Kaiba's beef with Pegasus was all business, as far as I knew. Mine was a blood feud – and one long overdue for settling, at that.

The only contact I had ever had with Seto Kaiba was at an elite duelists meeting held in the French Riviera a couple of years back. We shook hands briefly, as was obligatory at such an event. He acknowledged my connection in the duelling world with vague interest, and then moved on. It wasn't until the word spread about Kaiba being the number one duelist in the world – save for Pegasus himself – that began my obsession for challenging him. Perhaps tonight, I would get my wish.

Excellent, the beach was now in my view. Waves lapped at the shore, begging me to come and play; even if it was midnight or later. My feet sunk deep into the sand; causing me struggle to walk smoothly. Somewhere in the recesses of my mind I cursed myself for not having worn more suitable clothing. In the distance I could see fires which were eventually burning out along the beach. It was obviously a popular spot for duelists to settle in for the night. Guess they had the same idea as I did. Suddenly, I heard a crunching sound behind me; it was probably just a fox or some other pesky animal. I looked back just in time to see a white-haired figure melt back into the undergrowth. I shrugged it off; had they really wanted to bother me, they would have made themselves known.

I continued my hike down the rugged beach, passing by several groups of sleeping duelists. There was only one fire that I could see in the distance that was still burning brightly. If Kaiba was as much of an insomniac as the tabloids claimed him to be, my bets were on that it was him. Steeling myself, I advanced toward the campsite.

The blazing fire on the beach burned brighter the closer I approached, behind which sat a tired-looking silhouette. I halted on the other side of Kaiba's skilfully made campfire. Sparks flew out into the sky like bats out of hell. Up close, he looked the same as he usually did in the media. Although he was only 15 – maybe 16 – he had lost the supple roundedness of youth already. His face appeared gaunt in the dancing shadows of the fire, his cheekbones razor sharp, mouth set into an unsmiling line. There were shadows cast under his thoughtful dark blue eyes, and frown lines were already embedded between his eyebrows. Being an orphan-turned-child-prodigy-turned-teenage-billionaire had clearly taken a toll on him. I guessed it had robbed him of things that normal children took for granted – like actually _having_ a childhood, something he would now never know. Perhaps Mokuba still had a chance, though, having been too young or worthwhile to have been corrupted by Gozaburo.

The inferno created a glowing aura around him as he sat against a log, coat collar popped, carefully taking in the addictive poison of a cigarette. I was frankly surprised that he smoked. His eyes raised to mine, without a glimmer of recognition, nor emotion. We stared at each other for a few moments, sizing each other up.

"Kaiba," oddly enough, I hadn't prepared myself for what to say or how to act when it came to the crunch. Hopefully I was tactful enough in my approach.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Kaiba spat in that infamously husky, guarded voice.

I smiled complacently. Finally, the moment of truth. "I've been searching for you, Kaiba. Don't you remember me?"

"Hn, American," he muttered to himself with a flutter of his eyes – almost in disgust, I thought – picking up on my accent. "I'd have to say, you're not exactly remarkable enough to be worthy of remembering." He sounded bored.

I laughed at his feigned insult. "Alright then, let's skip the formalities. My name is not important. However, you might be interested to know that I am another holder of your most treasured card."

"Oh right, like I've never heard _that_ one before."

I smiled. "I'm sure you have."

He snarled at me. A few moments of silence passed, but our gaze remained on each other. "You're bluffing."

I shrugged. "Call my bluff, then."

"Show me your deck, stranger." He demanded.

"No need to be hasty," I muttered as I dug my deck from out of my suit jacket. "Here." I handed the Blue Eyes White Dragon card to him. Like hell was I going to show him my other cards.

Kaiba's cobalt eyes went wide, then they narrowed into disgust. "This is a _fake_." He said, flicking it back at me. It floated down onto the sand before I picked it back up.

I slotted the card back into my deck. "It's not a fake."

He looked at me vacantly for a moment, but I could see the hunger starting to stir in his eyes. He was like a lion crouching in the grass, waiting for the right moment to strike. I felt like the unsuspecting gazelle. Kaiba was, after all, notorious for his unpredictability. This could go either way.

"If what you say is true, then I hereby challenge you to a duel!"

 _That_ , however, was predictable.

"Fine. If I have to prove to you that my Blue Eyes isn't a copy, so be it."

Little did he know, this was exactly what I wanted. He just couldn't resist the temptation of and took the bait, just as I had planned. He was blinded by his own greed and the belief that he was the best of the best, to the degree where he lost touch with the reality that he could indeed lose. A duel was always 50/50 at the outset. But I was smarter than that. I had been ready for this moment my whole life.

Kaiba seemed pleased at my acceptance of his proposal. He had no idea that this it was what I had wanted all along. Finally, a challenge! In my eagerness, I felt my mouth fill with a gush of saliva.

"We will duel abiding by _my_ rules."

"Which are?"

"We will use the latest innovation in duel monster technology – my new duel disk invention. It works by projecting holographic images, just like a duelling arena." He pulled out a strange device from his briefcase that looked like a flying saucer and handed it to me.

"I'm sure you're smart enough to figure out how it works." Kaiba added bitterly.

"Save it." I muttered at his backhanded compliment. "Give me your deck to shuffle then, hotshot. I haven't got all night." I did, but he didn't need to know that.

He reluctantly handed me his deck as I handed mine over. We both shuffled them in different ways but equally as skilled. Once that was done, I put the duel disk on my arm and slotted my deck into it.

"What's the wager?" Kaiba enquired.

"One star chip."

"Hmm." He chuckled at me. Something about that had amused him.

"Is something funny?"

"I don't duel for _star chips_ , Doll Face. If you win – you can _have_ your precious star chip. If _I_ win, I get your Blue Eyes." He resounded coolly.

 _You're no Georgia Peach yourself, kid,_ I barely refrained from mentioning, glancing at his wiry frame that had not quite filled out yet, and a spot near his chin. Adolescence was one of the more vulnerable and times of a person's life, and I could use that to my advantage with Kaiba. However, if he wanted to play dirty, I certainly had some bombshells of my own to drop. Stripping a man of his masculinity was not below the belt, in _my_ book anyway.

I exhaled slowly to calm my mind, ignoring the pitiable insult. Despite myself, being in Kaiba's actual physical presence unnerved me a little, even though I knew he was all bark and no bite. He would hurt me as much as the next duelist – that was to say, not at all.

Up to this point, I had prepared myself mentally as well as I possibly could have, but nothing could match the ferocity of standing face-to-face with him, about to wager up one of my best cards as collateral damage in a duel. He was a teenager, however; a mess of hormones, arrogance and rage, which could easily add to his undoing. In that respect, I had one up on him.

I scowled at him. "You want my Blue Eyes? Then come and get it, _Dream Boat_!"

He let out a burst of sadistic laughter. "Very well, then. Let's duel!"

 **Author's note:** I'm probably going to keep the chapters short and sweet with this, as I know from personal experience that finding a chapter that's 20+ pages can be off-putting. Try, if you can, to see past any cliches so far, and let me know what you think in a comment! :)


	2. Split Asunder

**Chapter Two**

 **Split Asunder**

xXx

A bitterly cold wind rushed between us and the waves crashed hard onto the shore as we drew our hands. On the fringes I thought I could see people starting to gather.

"You can do the honours, Kaiba." I offered.

He fixed his eyes on me for a second or two, then turned to his hand, examining it carefully. "I will play the Mystic Horseman in attack mode! I will also place one card face down. Your move."

 _A conservative first move_. "I play my Sea Serpent Warrior of Darkness… in attack mode. I will put two cards face down, and that will end my turn."

 _Come on Kaiba, take the bait…_

"Pah! Your sea urchin doesn't scare me. Mystic Horseman, attack the Sea Warrior now!"

"Not so fast, Kaiba. Activate magic card, Mirror Force!"

Kaiba staggered back as his attack was deflected back at him, shattering his Mystic Horseman to pieces.

"And now my Sea Serpent Warrior, attack Kaiba's life points directly!"

"You think I'd let you break my defences that easily? Think again! I activate my face-down card, Trap Hole!"

I felt the wind leave my sails as a gaping pit opened up on the field between us, sucking my Sea Warrior down into it.

"And there's more where _that_ came from," Kaiba jeered, and drew his next card. "I now summon Saggi the Dark Clown in defence mode, and I will also play Graceful Charity. This allows me to draw three new cards and discard two."

I fumed slightly. Well played, Kaiba, well played.

"I play two cards face down, and that ends my turn!" he shouted, obviously displeased with the new cards he was dealt.

I drew my next card. Excellent! My Swords of Revealing Light could hold him for three turns, giving me a chance to draw my Blue Eyes – that would come in handy later on. In my hand I currently had Red Archery Girl, the Ocean field card, Spell-Binding Circle, the Dark Magician Girl and Monster Reborn. I was in a strong position.

"I activate my Ocean field card, which conceals any of my monsters. I also summon a monster in attack mode _and_ I will place one card face down, for good measure. Your turn, Kaiba." He snarled at that; I chuckled.

 _This woman…_ _ **whoever**_ _she is, is more clued up than I gave her credit for. But she's still no match for me, even if she_ _**does**_ _have another Blue Eyes. Hmm… what have I got here? Perfect!_

"I summon my mighty Vorse Raider to the field in attack mode! Vorse Raider, attack whatever monster is hiding in that spineless ocean of hers!"

"Tsk, tsk, Kaiba. I really thought you'd watch out for mistakes like these. Activate magic card, Star Boy!" I cried. "This card, along with the magic effects of my Ocean, will pump up the attack points of my monster to 2100. Red Archery Girl, show yourself, and attack Kaiba's Vorse Raider, now!"

Much to his dismay, Kaiba's mighty beast-warrior card was destroyed and his lifepoints plummeted.

"You're no match for me. This duel is just beginning! Remember I'm the owner of the only three remaining Blue Eyes White Dragons! It's only a matter of time before I draw him." Kaiba snapped.

I rolled my eyes – his dragon had a _gender_ now? "You don't have to tell me twice, Kaiba. Now make your move – not that there's a lot you can do."

"Alright, you asked for it! I summon my Swordstalker to the field in attack mode. I also play the magic card, Heavy Storm! That removes all trap and magic cards from the field, so now I can attack your little mermaid. Go, Swordstalker!"

 _Damn. He's got me this time._ My Ocean field card drained away, as well as my other face-down magic card, Spell-Binding Circle. My Red Archery Girl was also obliterated by Kaiba's Swordstalker. But not to worry, I still had plenty more powerful cards to play up my sleeve. Kaiba was simply getting his revenge. It was about time he showed some initiative.

At least it was my turn. I drew my next card – the Magic Formula. That would work well with my Dark Magician Girl. She would get a power boost of 700 attack points, therefore being able to wipe out Kaiba's Swordstalker.

"I summon Dark Magician Girl to the field, in attack mode."

Kaiba smirked across the field at me. "Nice try, but your little _fairy_ has the same attack strength as my Swordstalker, stalemating any potential attacks. Try again!"

 _That's it Kaiba… fool yourself into thinking I'm an amateur…_ "You're all full of hot air, aren't you? I haven't finished my turn yet, Kaiba! I activate the magic card, Magic Formula! Dark Magician Girl, power boost!"

My Dark Magician Girl powered up, and her attack and defence points went up by 700. "Now Dark Magician Girl! Wipe out his Sword Stalker with your dark magic attack!"

My Dark Magician Girl smiled and winked at Kaiba before destroying his Sword Stalker. His life points were already down to 1300 from 3000. Mine were at 1550. My Magic Formula disappeared from the field as my Dark Magician Girl remained unharmed.

"And that's not all, Kaiba! Whenever Magic Formula gets sent to the Graveyard, its special ability activates, which means that I gain 1000 life points! Scared yet?" I cooed.

"Big deal! It's my turn. I summon… my Battle Ox, in defence mode! I will also place a card face down. That ends my turn."

 _He's playing a weak monster when I have my Dark Magician Girl on the field in attack mode that could easily wipe him out. He must have something planned with that face down card of his._ I drew a card. Toon World! Yes! I also had Monster Reborn in my hand, which meant I could bring back my Red Archery Girl, to morph her into the Toon Mermaid. Finally, some progress. But my Blue Eyes remained elusive.

"I will activate my magic card Monster Reborn, and bring back the Red Archery Girl from the Graveyard." I said, watching as my little mermaid rose from the depths once more. "Next I activate Toon World to the field. Red Archery Girl – you know what to do!"

Kaiba looked on in befuddlement as my Toon World sprung up onto the field. My Red Archery Girl did as I commanded and came back out looking as cute and cuddly as ever.

"Kaiba, meet the Toon Mermaid!"

"What _is_ that thing?" the horror in Kaiba's eyes was plain to see.

"Welcome to Toon World, Kaiba - what is sure to be the place of your worst nightmares. Toon World protects the monsters that I command protection over, and allows me to hit your life points directly, bypassing your monsters. However, every time I attack, I have to sacrifice 500 of my own life points, so I will use it sparingly."

I looked around me, only to find that the crowd of spectators had grown to nearly a hundred. Word had obviously spread fast. They were all staring in awe at my wonderful monsters that they hadn't seen before, projected into lifelike images with Kaiba's holographic technology. Toon World and its Toon Monsters had never been released to the public, after all. I only knew of one other who possessed these cards – Pegasus himself, the man who had lured me to this island by giving me these cards in the first place. I knew there was an ulterior motive on his part for doing that, but I didn't have time to think about that right now. All I knew is that, come the time when I arrived at the castle, I'd have to be more on my guard than ever.

 _What has she got hiding…? What in the world are Toon World monsters? And why haven't I heard of them before? I must know more about them! I will attack and see the results of these Toon Monsters. After all, Battle Ox isn't important. I have something else in my deck that I will draw shortly that is much more powerful… but first I will put my Spellbinding Circle on her Toon Mermaid…_

"I activate… Spellbinding Circle! Spellbinding Circle, attach yourself to the Toon Mermaid now!"

 _I knew it._ "Uh, uh, uh! Activate magic card De-spell! You aren't the _only_ one who has a De-spell card in your deck, Kaiba." I chided. His Spellbinding Circle evaporated.

 _I should have known she'd have something like that up her sleeve. Not that it matters… she'll be in for the shock of her life once she knows what I've got coming up in my deck…I MUST draw my Blue Eyes before she draws hers! For now, let's see what this Toon World of hers can do._

"I switch my Battle Ox into attack mode. Battle Ox! Attack Toon Mermaid now!"

"When will you learn, Kaiba? You can't attack my Toon Mermaid, because she's protected by Toon World!" I shouted.

I heard the gradually-growing crowd of spectators cheer. The time was almost two o'clock in the morning. "It's my go, and since Toon World gives me the special ability to attack you directly, you're in for a direct hit! Toon Mermaid! Attack his life points directly!"

My baby mermaid giggled from inside her clamshell and aimed her fire at Kaiba with her bow and arrow, sending his lifepoints plummeting to 900. Since I asked my Toon Mermaid to attack, I lost 500 myself, causing my own lifepoints fall to 1050.

I watched Kaiba grin as he drew his next card. A mocking smile slowly spread over his face like a bacterial infection. He began to laugh. I was only mildly disturbed; there were other duelists in this competition – whom I had beaten – that made Kaiba look sane.

"I now play, Card Destruction! This card requires both players to discard their hands – so do it!" He commanded.

I raised an eyebrow, questioning this move in my mind. "Very well, Kaiba. If you play that card, do so at your own peril. My Magic Formula is in the Graveyard now, so I gain 1000 life points. You've just gone out of the frying pan and into the fire!"

Kaiba grimaced at that, but said nothing as we drew our new hands.

 _So you_ _ **think**_ _._ Kaiba thought to himself _. This will only bring me closer to drawing my most precious card… YES! Victory will soon be mine…_

My eyes filled with joy as I saw the fateful flash of blue and silver appear in my new hand. "It's my go Kaiba…and I'm afraid your number is up. BLUE EYES WHITE DRAGON, SHOW YOURSELF!" My magnificent dragon burst to life, screaming out its cry as it manifested on the field between us. I had never seen anything so dazzling in my life – my dragon in its pure holographic form. What a magnificent creature!

Much to my surprise, Kaiba grinned. "So I guess your card _isn't_ a fake, then," he muttered as his very own Blue Eyes White Dragon rose up in front of him.

I couldn't believe the odds of us both drawing our rarest cards at the same time. I had to admit, though, the opulence of seeing the two beasts facing each other on the field was spectacular. If they went head to head, though, they would destroy each other and our life points would both reach zero immediately. I couldn't let him attack, for I had no magic or trap cards in my hand to defend me. Well, ones that were of no value. _Even if he does attack, my dragon would withstand it. If they attacked each other at the same time…who knows what could happen? We could_ _be rendered unconscious_ _from the impact on our lifepoints! But I have no choice…I've come so far! I can't let him destroy my Blue Eyes with his own – it would be the ultimate insult! I have to try!_

"BLUE EYES WHITE DRAGON, ATTACK WITH WHITE LIGHTENING NOW!"

Our dragons pierced the sky with their trademark cries and sent balls of lightening crashing into each other, obliterating themselves, blinding and deafening everybody present for a few terrifying seconds. The violent force of the impact sent me straight to the ground in a heap, into a void of impalpable darkness.

xXx

I woke shortly after to the muted sound of cheering and yahooing. My ears were buzzing and my head was pulsating. I vaguely hoped my eardrums hadn't burst. What in the world just happened, and where was I? Looking around, I slowly began to gather my awareness once again. I was lying on damp sand, with water gurgling in my throat, threatening to choke me. I sat up quickly and spat it out. A hand supported me from falling back down on the ground again. I realised it was the hand of Seto Kaiba. As if my life were flashing before my eyes, it suddenly all came back to me with startling clarity.

"I'm alright," I muttered hoarsely, shaking Kaiba's hold on me.

"Get to your feet." He demanded, holding out a hand to me. "I want to congratulate you. It's fair to say, you have my attention now." Kaiba smirked.

I glowered at him and took his hand, pulling myself up. "We drew, Kaiba. You know very well that my strategy beat yours fair and square."

"Don't push it," he retorted, crossing his arms. "Identify yourself. Who _are_ you?"

I stood up and brushed the sand off my backside. My deck was still in the duel disk around my arm, thankfully.

"We met at the European World Championships in Monaco last year," I replied coolly. "My name is Reiko Sørensen…." I heard the audience whisper my name and chatter amongst themselves.

"I'm going to assume that's not your _real_ name." Kaiba said dryly.

"Well…no. It's not."

"Let me guess. Your real name starts with an 'L'?" at that moment, Kaiba caught me off guard by speaking perfect English – in an American accent, no less. I tried not to laugh.

"Try telling someone Japanese that your name is 'Lexus' and see how _you_ like it."

"Then which is it?"

"I answer to both." I replied, wondering why he even cared.

He merely grunted.

"Anyway…" I took my deck out of the duel disk device and handed the disk back to Kaiba. "Thank you for your time."

He took it back from me, and, to my surprise, flicked me a star chip. "It's not like I need it."

"Thanks," I murmured, and slotted it into my duelling gauntlet, completing the entire collection.

As I turned to go, a young teenager came toward me. His eyes were like saucers, as if in awe of the both of us. I could tell he was an amateur, but he must have had _some_ talent if he had made it to the island.

"Excuse me, Miss," he said. "What _are_ those monsters you were playing before? They were _awesome_! I've never seen anything like them before!" he exclaimed.

Kaiba switched his gaze from the boy back to me. "Yes. What _were_ those 'toon monsters' that you were playing?"

"They are called Toon Monsters, and if you plan on duelling Pegasus or myself any time soon, I suggest you shape up your deck. Toon Monsters might look cute, but they are very powerful and dangerous. They were not issued to the public because of their strength. Beware, everyone. Pegasus J. Crawford is the creator of these types of cards, and believe me, he will show no mercy on you by playing them in the finals, _if_ you make it that far." I said, speaking for everyone who was listening.

"Do you have any other Toon Monster cards?" a young girl asked from the crowd.

"Yes. The Blue Eyes White Dragon, Summoned Skull and the Alligator's Sword monster cards can all be morphed into Toon Monsters when Toon World is on the field. Now, if you'll all excuse me, I must get some rest. I plan on making it to the castle by noon tomorrow."

The crowd disbursed as Kaiba and I walked back to the dying out embers of his campfire. Words need not be exchanged that I was going to sleep next to his fire tonight, whether he liked it or not. To hell with trying to start one of my own at this hour; dawn was only a couple of hours away, anyway.

After a time of contemplation, Kaiba asked, "How did you manage to get hold of the Blue Eyes and Toon World card? Pegasus only ever made _four_ Blue Eyes White Dragons – of which I have three, and destroyed the other one – and Toon World wasn't issued to the public. I demand an explanation."

"You don't have to speak English for me, you know."

"It's good practice." he deadpanned, and I laughed. He obviously didn't need any more practice than I did at English. "Now tell me."

I sighed as I sat down on the sand. "You don't really want to know."

"Oh, but I _do_."

Kaiba had this way of lowering his voice into a somewhat seductive tone when he wanted something, I realised. Clever tactic, as well as using his looks to his advantage, I gathered, but it didn't wash with me. He was too young, for one thing, and I wasn't a googly-eyed teenager anymore.

I lay back against the log, churning over in my mind as to whether or not Kaiba really wanted to hear my story. I was sure he had heard enough sob stories in his mere 15 years – which was sad, now that I thought about it – but this one might be slightly more interesting, being that Pegasus and I so happened to be distantly related.

"Pegasus is my now-ex brother-in-law."

There was only silence for a few excruciating moments, as Kaiba digested this information and put the pieces into place.

"You're _related_ to that creep?"

"Not by blood, thank God." I snorted. "He was married to my sister, Cecelia."

Kaiba huffed disgruntledly. "Okay; maybe I really _don't_ want to know."

I sighed. At almost three in the morning, it wasn't the most appropriate conversation to be striking up with a perfect stranger. I tried changing the subject. "I may be able to help you, Kaiba."

"I didn't need your help before, and I don't need it now."

"We're both heading to the castle. By duelling me tonight, you've helped me get one step closer to where I need to be. I'm indebted to you."

"You owe me nothing. We drew."

I deemed the conversation to be at an end as Kaiba shifted down and rolled over. His long back pressed lightly against my knees as I lay curled up in a foetal position behind him. There was a long time of silence, and then there was only heavy breathing. Finally, I put my head on my briefcase and let myself relax, drifting in and out of sleep. I normally didn't sleep well in any case, but trying to sleep on cold sand next to someone I hardly knew didn't abate my troubles. Still, it was better than sleeping in the shadows alone. The sound of the waves lapping at the shore truly was the most tranquil of sounds, however, and gently started to lull me to sleep. I closed my eyes and tried to let the rhythm of the tides take me away, until the black of night gave way to the blue dawn.

xXx


	3. Deadly Pursuits

**Chapter Three**

 **Deadly Pursuits**

 **xXx**

 _My dearest Lexie,_

 _I hope you are well. Have the leaves started falling at home, yet? They are starting to turn red and gold here on the island, now. It is even more beautiful than it was before. I can't wait until you can come for a vacation. When do you have your next school break? It can't be long now. I miss everyone so much, but Japan truly is the most beautiful place to live; I know you would love it here. The castle is in its final stages of completion, now. It should be done by Christmas! I hope I can see you before then, though. I have started planting a flower garden. You know how I love my lilies. If they grow well, I might be able to sell them on the mainland. It's only an hour's journey by ferry to the nearest town, even though Peg insists on taking me on his launch. I've started hanging his paintings. They look so wonderful, I cannot begin tell you. Once the castle is finished, we're going to have a fabulous gala. You'll be invited, of course. I can hardly wait. The beginning of our married life has been wonderful so far, Lexie. You'll know the feeling when you meet your own husband. I couldn't have asked for a better man in Peg. He is truly so wonderful to me. Anyway, I must keep this short. We are choosing the fabric for the hallway carpets this morning and I haven't even gotten out of bed! I woke up and the first thing I thought of was you, my little sister. Give my love to Essie, as well._

 _Truly yours,_

 _Cecelia._

"Hungry?"

I glanced down, pulled out of my trance. Kaiba, having now awoken, extended a chocolate bar to me. "I've already found something. Here." I replied, handing him a fistful of wild blueberries.

"Morning person?"

"Insomniac, more like."

He gazed down at the plump little berries he now cupped in his palm. "Efficient," he mused.

I smiled wryly and stuffed some more in my mouth, stashing the chocolate bar away for later. We set off together early-morning when most other duelists were just now awakening. Gradually making our way up the beach and back into the forest, neither of us mentioned the fact that we were traveling as a pair. We kept a fair distance between us, heading in the general direction of the castle. After a time, Kaiba spoke.

"Seeing as we have a few hours' walk ahead of us, perhaps now would be a good time for that story." he said, glancing down at me.

I tensed, weighing up the risks of involving anyone else in my plan. But perhaps telling Kaiba could work to my advantage. Taking on Pegasus by myself was not a task to be sneezed at; if I could have Kaiba ally with me against him, it would put me in a stronger position.

"Pegasus's father knew our father, through business," I began. "We met him at a garden party on our country estate in upstate New York when we were children, and Cecelia kept in contact with him, as a penfriend. Pegasus moved from Vegas to New York when he was a teenager and immediately came to take my sister's hand in marriage, but I believe he had an ulterior motive. His family are…shall we say, wealthy, so it was not for financial gain on his part, but…we had connections which he knew would help him in getting his business off the ground. At this time I was only…" I paused to think, tapping my finger on my bottom lip. "Your age, I think. Maybe a bit younger."

Kaiba set his mouth into a firm line at that, but said nothing. I thought I noticed a faint flush creep into his pale cheeks, but perhaps it was just the way the light was reflecting from the sunrise. I smiled and continued.

"Cecelia married Pegasus because he swept her off of her feet; Pegasus married _Cecelia_ because of our father's connections in the business world, and because she had money – our family inheritance. I guess it also helped that she met the criteria of being the perfect young trophy wife. At least…that's the way I saw it.

"We were born 18 months apart, Cecelia and I, so we were very close. We might as well have been twins; people asked often enough." I smiled fondly at the memories. "But I also knew how easily influenced she could be by other people. How innocent and naïve she was. When she married Pegasus and moved to this island with him…I had a feeling I probably wouldn't see her again – and I didn't.

"She would write letters to me, because this place is so damned isolated; there weren't even phone lines in the early stages of the castle's development. In her letters she would tell me that Pegasus was planning on building this amazing residence so they could live like royalty – the king and queen of their very own island paradise. He wanted to give Cecelia everything. But coming to this island, it was like they were living in a fairy-tale, with only the animals for company.

"After the castle was built, she would tell me about these weird role-playing games that Pegasus liked to play with her. In one of them, she talked about pretending to be a peasant, and Pegasus was the prince that came to save her from living in poverty. Or, she would be the princess lost in the woods, and Pegasus would take mercy on her by letting her stay in his castle. Things like that. But, after a while, their games became more sinister.

"I started receiving letters less regularly. In the final letter I got from Cecelia, she told me she was becoming _afraid_ of Pegasus. They had played a game that had gotten out of hand. She had been playing the role of a pick-pocket, and Pegasus wanted to 'punish' her for it. He locked her in their dungeon and tied her up for a whole 24 hours, gagged and bound. When he finally let her out, well…let's just say, she couldn't walk for a day and a half. It was all a sexual thrill for him, but by the time she finally realised this, and wanted out, it was too late."

I let out a shuddering sigh. It was hard to talk out loud about this, but Kaiba seemed as good a listener as any other third party.

"I believe Pegasus killed Cecelia. If not on purpose, then accidentally. But still, its murder – or at least manslaughter – whichever way you look at it. There was no autopsy done. Pegasus went to the mainland with Cecelia's body and held a private burial within days of the incident – at least, that's what I figured happened. He didn't inform the family until afterward, claiming it would take too long for us to arrive from America. The whole story about her becoming 'sick' with some 'mysterious illness' is a fabrication.

"I believe he killed her, and when he realised what he had done, he went to great lengths to try to bring her back, even venturing to Egypt to study their beliefs on the afterlife, and resurrection. Hence why we now have the rise of Duel Monsters, which he stumbled upon by chance while in Egypt. The man was insane long before now."

Kaiba came to a halt, and was quiet for a time before he spoke. "That's quite a theory you have there."

"You don't have to believe me." I said. "Not many people do."

"We're dealing with a madman here – I wouldn't put it past him if what you say turns out to be the truth."

"I'm not sure I want to know. All I want to do is bring my sister to justice."

We continued walking, and after a time of silence, I figured our conversation was over. Then, Kaiba asked, "What took you so long? You said it was nearly eight years ago."

"It took me a while to build my case, Kaiba," I retorted. "Luckily my employer has some faith in me. I just hope I can execute the plan that I've got in mind. It could go either way."

"And your plan is…?"

"There's a warrant out for Pegasus' arrest on an unrelated charge – company fraud, I believe it is. If I can have him arrested for that, then I can also have him charged for manslaughter, at the outside."

Kaiba was quiet as he mulled this over. "Fraud, huh. That might have something to do with me."

Ah-ha. "I assumed that was the only reason why you'd be here." I replied, figuring that Kaiba wasn't on the island for competition reasons. Why would he bother?

"Perhaps we could add abduction to that list, then." Kaiba said. "He's got my brother, after all."

"So _that's_ how he got you here…" I mused. After all, Kaiba wouldn't lift a finger for anybody – unless it involved his brother. "Do you know if he's alright?"

"That's what I'm here to find out."

The air suddenly felt heavy between us. What could I say to that? I hoped that Pegasus wouldn't stoop so low as to harm children. Kidnapping was bad enough. There was nothing more that got my back up than child abusers.

"You still haven't explained how you got your hands on those cards," Kaiba pointed out, changing the subject somewhat.

"Pegasus sent them to me," I replied. "along with an invitation to take part in the tournament. I'm not quite sure how he found out that I play duel monsters, though. He's as shady as they come, so I guess he has his ways."

"Why would he want to see _you_ again, eight years after he allegedly killed your sister?"

"That's what _I'm_ here to find out."

Kaiba slid his eyes away from me. "I would be very careful, if I were you."

"I plan on being so."

We walked some more under the shaded canopy. Sunlight dappled through the treetops, creating a rather humid feel to the air, quite unlike the cooler northern climates I was used to. If it weren't for the disturbing reasons as to why I was here, I would have thought that this island was rather pretty. It was true what Cecelia had told me about the place in her letters. But all it held for me now was anger and grief.

"How do you know that there's a warrant out on him, anyway?"

So now he was getting curious. I looked at Kaiba, wondering just how much to divulge; how much he really needed to know, what was relevant. "Let's just say…I have friends."

Kaiba narrowed his eyes. "You're government?"

I chuckled a little. "Something like that."

"NPA?"

"No,"

"CIB?"

I scoffed. "Flattering, but no."

"Interpol?"

"Kaiba, please."

He grunted. "There's more to you than meets the eye, isn't there?"

"There's no need to feel threatened, Kaiba. Quite the opposite, actually."

"Well then, _what_?" I could tell he was getting frustrated at this point.

"If you must know, I was an attorney at the New York County DA's office. More recently, I've become a _gaiben_ , an Attorney of Foreign Law."

Kaiba stopped dead in his tracks. " _You_? You're some high-flying lawyer from New _York_?"

"There's no need to be so dramatic," I crossed my arms, glaring up at him.

Our eyes levelled each other; Kaiba was still reeling. "Where did you study?"

"Yale."

"Huh. Looks can be deceiving."

I didn't know what to make of that, so I ignored it. What would this kid know about universities, at any rate? There was nothing more to be said as we continued our quest toward the island fortress, and the challenge that awaited us both.

xXx

It was midday. Briefly, we had stopped at a stream to have a drink and wash the grime off ourselves, but it was a fleeting break. Had I been alone, I wouldn't have hesitated to strip off and dive in; I hadn't had a shower since I stepped off the ship four days ago, now. Few words were said before set out again, shortly after.

"Hm, what's this?" Kaiba stopped abruptly to look at a sign which was mounted on a cliff face outside a large cave entrance. The words " _Duelists Beware!_ " was written in poorly-applied red paint.

"Subtle." I stated.

"Pathetic, more like." Kaiba scoffed. "I think I need to teach them a lesson."

I wondered why Kaiba would take the time, but it was a welcome distraction. "Suits me."

After walking about fifty or so yards into the cave, the ground below us suddenly gave in and we found ourselves falling, like Alice tumbling down the rabbit hole. We fell what felt like about three metres and landed in a heap on the hard dusty ground. This was a trap; I should have known.

"What is the meaning of this?" Kaiba asked as he got to his feet and brushed himself down.

I tried to push myself up off the ground but landed pathetically back down, eliciting a yelp. It soon became clear that I had sprained my wrist.

"Are you alright?" Kaiba asked sternly, being careful not to show too much concern, I thought.

"Just landed awkwardly. I'll be fine."

Kaiba nodded and gave me a hand up. I gladly took it.

In the murky distance ahead, I could hear a voice with a familiarly irritating coppery twang to it. The voice was male and it sounded like he was having an argument with someone. I noticed the stone walls at either side of us had torches mounted on them, burning dimly, illuminating what seemed to be an underground corridor. Was this some kind of weird secret passage Pegasus had carved out?

"Come on." Kaiba motioned me to follow him, his purple trench coat flowing behind him as he walked. Hesitantly, I followed him.

Kaiba looked dismayed to see a group of teenagers come into view. He obviously knew them from somewhere. I thought I vaguely recalled seeing them on the ship on the way to the island several days ago. Then I realised that I had actually duelled one of them already – the blonde headed kid with that cringe-worthy bravado.

"Well, well, well, look who it is! It's the 'briefcase twins'!"

Kaiba crossed his arms and smiled maliciously at the boy whose hair resembled a haystack. I got the feeling that Kaiba was about to slice him to shreds. "At least she isn't a third rate duelist, mutt."

 _Mutt?_

The boy growled, much like that of a dog. I chuckled; Kaiba obviously had a 'bone' of contention with this guy. I eyed each individual in the group; the girl with short brown hair was scowling at us like we were the scum of the earth. The taller brunet boy in the fawn coat just looked dumbly at the both of us, mainly me. There was a girl – or was it a boy? – with a shock of white hair looking on curiously – fearfully – I thought. Then, finally, the dwarf kid with multi-coloured hair stood looking up at me with huge violet orbs. He could only be Yuugi Motou. _This_ was the one that the duelling world was hailing as the new champion?

"Is there anybody down here besides you dweebs?" Kaiba asked flatly.

The girl clenched her teeth and fists and said, "We don't know yet Kaiba, we just fell down that hole! We're trying to get out of here!"

"I should have known you'd be of no help." Kaiba dismissed and carried on walking past them.

"You know them?" I inquired, following him.

"We attend the same school, unfortunately."

I smiled, remembering my own high school days. Kaiba was so advanced for his age, one could have easily thought he was older. "Do you think there's another way out of here?"

"There has to be. I'm not even going to think about attempting to climb up the wall of the pit that we fell down."

Suddenly I heard footsteps running up behind us. The 'dweebs', as Kaiba liked to call them, had obviously decided to tag along. I could hear them bickering amongst each other once more.

"Hey! Hey you! Suit-Girl! Come back here a second!" I stopped dead in my tracks and turned around. The boy – whose name I later learnt was Jounouchi – ran up to me panting slightly, coming a little too close for comfort. I took a step backward.

"Yes?"

He looked slightly taken aback, almost as if he had been expecting some kind of immature response from me, but luckily for him, I didn't bite that easily.

"Uh, well, me and the gang, uh, just wanted to know if we could uh, you know? We could tag along? We're stuck down `ere, just like you are!"

"Funny, that." I sighed and turned around, catching up to Kaiba.

"Is that a yes?" The brunet boy asked thickly from the back of the group.

"Whatever."

We walked for a while when we began to hear eerie noises from further down in the cave. The torches on either side of the walls abruptly stopped and we found ourselves walking into complete darkness. I stopped to grab my torch out of my briefcase when the brunette girl walked into me.

"Watch where you're going." I muttered.

"Geeze, _sorry_!" she replied defensively.

"Look, there's something up there!" Motou cried from behind us.

Kaiba and I remained quiet as we kept walking, toward what looked like a shabby, makeshift duelling arena. We encountered a group of about four duelists of varying heights and builds, all wearing Halloween masks.

"Little early, isn't it?" I said, shining my torch in their faces.

"I agree. We're wasting our time here." Kaiba replied.

"If you don't duel us now, you'll never make it out of this cave alive!" One of the masked duelists threatened in a bogus voice.

Kaiba opened his briefcase and pulled out a sleek silver gun, cocking it. "Would you like to find out who _really_ makes it out of here alive?"

At that instant, they took off their masks and put their hands up, pleading with Kaiba not to shoot. I recognized one of the duelists as Bonz - a creepy kid who duelled with zombie cards. There was another one there too whom I recognised well – a champion American duelist named Bandit Keith Howard. He was humiliated in the last Intercontinental Championships when Pegasus had asked a child to play the final move for him. That was something I would never forget.

"You little punks! _You're_ the ones that trapped us in here?!" Jounouchi screeched.

"We didn't trap you – _you_ fell _into_ our trap!" Keith laughed.

"Shall we settle this with a duel then?" I suggested, not wanting to waste any more time.

Keith snorted a laugh. "You? Duel against…me?" He raised his eyebrows and threw his head back in amusement.

"I'm not the one who lost to a child, Keith," I retorted. "So back down now, or bring it. The choice is yours."

"Usually I would say ladies first," Jounouchi suddenly piped up. "But in this instance, this is a job for a man! The one, the only, Jounouchi Katsuya!"

I almost gagged at the kid's misogynistic bravado, but let him take the stand. Better his star chip than mine, I thought.

Surprisingly, the duel was over in a matter of fifteen minutes, but they didn't go easy on Jounouchi. Just when it was looking hopeless, he finished off the duel by playing Sword & Shield, which admittedly was a good move – the only move I could think of that would have gotten him out of that predicament.

Bonz, Keith and their sidekicks muttered some directions to get us out of the cave. We emerged into the daylight once again and the "dweeb brigade" carried on, on their own path. Kaiba and I walked mostly in silence for another hour or so, until the castle came into view.

Coming face to face with the obscenely opulent fortress gave me chills. I had waited 8 years to settle this score, and now that time had finally come. _Cecelia… I'm here for you now…_

At the bottom of the steps, Kaiba turned to me. "Lexus,"

"Yes?"

"Good luck in your pursuits." To my surprise, he extended his hand.

I nodded and took it, shaking firmly but gently, noticing he was also extending me his business card. His hands were warm and strong, just as a teenage boy's were supposed to be. I slipped my hand out of his, taking the card with it. "You can call me Lex."

"Lex, then." He then got down on one knee and dug around for something in his briefcase. He pulled out the revolver he had threatened to use on Keith earlier that day. "You should keep this," he said, handing it to me. "For protection."

It was the first time I had held a gun like this before, a handgun, in this case a Type 26 revolver. This one in particular had the initials "KC" embossed upon it. The only practice I'd had at firing a weapon had been with hunting rifles on my parents' estate, to shoot clay pigeons.

"Kaiba, I don't think…"

"Don't think, just take it." he ordered.

"But, what about you?"

"I have another."

I swallowed. "Well, thank you." and put it in my own briefcase. I wasn't really sure I wanted to know how many bullets it had.

He nodded, and we both looked back at the castle for a few more moments. I felt like I was suspended in time; like from this moment on, everything was going to change – either for better, or for worse. There was no knowing exactly what lay ahead, for either of us.

"Kaiba, if what I have planned goes accordingly, then you may get caught up in all of this, too." I warned.

"I will do what it takes, if it means that that maniac will be put to a stop once and for all."

I smiled. "Thank you."

Having a known public figure like Kaiba testifying against Pegasus would give my case more credibility. To have him on my side would be beneficial to say the least.

After ascending what felt like a thousand steps together, Kaiba and I were subjected to a thorough examination by Pegasus' suits. Kaiba declared he was here on unrelated business and without so much as a wave of the hand, he showed himself inside. It wasn't like they weren't expecting him, after all.

"Please take off your duelling glove for examination, Miss Sørensen." I took it off and handed it to him. He inspected each and every star chip carefully and slotted them into some kind of elaborate locking mechanism on the door. To my surprise, it opened. I guess I should have expected more tricks like these.

"Thank you Miss Sørensen. We will be asking for your Glory of the King's Hand and your Glory of the King's Opposite Hand identification cards once all the duelists have arrived. For now, Mr. Croquet will escort you to your guest room."

I took back my duelling glove and proceeded further into the castle. It was obvious that Pegasus' henchmen hadn't the faintest idea who I was, but keeping a low profile was in my best interests, anyhow. A man stood in the entrance hall wearing a black tux just like the other two. I guessed this was Croquet, or whoever those other goons were talking about. I had no idea where Kaiba had just disappeared to.

"Welcome to the Duelist Kingdom Castle, you are the first finalist to arrive. Please, come this way." I followed him up a flight of dark wooden stairs accompanied by a red rug, and down a long hallway. Stepping foot inside the castle walls for the first time filled me with a feeling of both dread and determination. Croquet halted and took out a key from his pocket and unlocked a door.

"This will be your guest room for the duration of your stay here. Please ensure you are at the dining hall at six o'clock for the introductory feast once all the finalists have arrived. That will be when you meet Mr. Pegasus. For now, feel free to take advantage of your room's facilities." He left me with the key to my room and vanished.

I walked in, only to find that it was complete luxury. It was a strange feeling, knowing that my sister died in this castle. Was her spirit now haunting these corridors? I walked over to the bed, threw down my briefcase and kicked off my shoes. I advanced on the refrigerator - the only thing I had had to eat today was a handful of berries this morning, and Kaiba's unwanted chocolate bar around lunchtime.

Inside the small fridge was a bottle of champagne, a large bowl of fruit salad, some crackers with French cheeses, delicatessen meats and a jug of iced water. I went for the jug of water first and gulped down about half of it. It had been a while since I crossed a river with water clean enough to drink. Come to think of it, I hadn't washed properly for nearly a week, either. Might as well take advantage of the facilities before my meet and greet, then, I thought. It had been over seven years since I had last seen my estranged brother-in-law in the flesh – at his own wedding, no less. Oh, the irony.

Once I had had my refreshments, I went and drew a deep, hot bath. It had been too long since I had pampered myself in a full-length tub. I unpinned my hair and scrubbed myself from head to toe. After a while lolling in the steaming water, I noticed that night was approaching, and wondered of Kaiba's whereabouts. No doubt he had already gone to find Pegasus; he _did_ have his kid brother locked away in a dungeon somewhere, after all. I sighed and pulled myself out of the tub and back into my suit, figuring I had best see to the task of finding Pegasus, myself.

xXx


	4. Smoke and Mirrors

**Chapter Four**

 **Smoke and Mirrors**

I had to say, I was surprised and slightly more than creeped-out to find that paintings of Cecelia adorned the walls of just about every room and corridor of the castle. The biggest one of all was mounted at the top end of the dining hall. If nothing else, Pegasus had been a talented painter, but why had he turned his castle into a shrine of Cecelia? It was disturbing to say the least and if my theory proved to be accurate, it showed just how much of a sicko he really was.

I was equally surprised to find those kids who had followed us through the cave earlier in the day now loitering around in the banquet hall, as well as a few unfamiliar faces. I thought I had seen the blonde woman in the purple boots before. More to the point, how on earth had _they_ made it to the finals?

"Hey, it's Suit Girl!" Jounouchi announced.

"It's Reiko, actually." I muttered, approaching the posse. "Have any of you seen Kaiba?"

"We thought he was with _you_!" Yuugi said, apparently just as baffled by my appearance here.

The mutt growled at the mentioning of Kaiba's name. "What would _that_ chump be doing here anyway? He's not even in the tournament."

I deadpanned. "Never mind. I will find him myself."

Surely he was with Pegasus or Mokuba by now. At an estimation, he could be at either end of the castle – either in the underground dungeons, trying to find his brother, or in a duelling arena. Those were my two guesses. Being that I was closest to the western wing of the castle, I presumed that a duelling arena would have to be around here somewhere. I set off in the direction my gut told me to go.

"Hey, wait up, Reiko!" Yuugi called after me. "We need to find Pegasus – he's holding my Grandfather hostage. Pegasus and Kaiba _both_ have to be in here somewhere. We can look for them together."

Ah, so I wasn't the only one Pegasus had blackmailed. I shrugged indifferently at the boy. "If you insist."

After some time of searching the castle, we finally came upon a huge room, even larger than the dining hall we had just been in. We found ourselves looking across to what looked like a conveyer belt that stretched the width of the room – and Pegasus and Kaiba were standing at either end of it. Jackpot.

"Look, it's them!" Yuugi cried.

Pegasus noticed us standing on the viewing platform and laughed delightedly. "Well, well, well, look who it is! My finalists have arrived! And look who's with them…none other than the acclaimed Lexus Sørensen!"

"Acclaimed?" Jounouchi queried.

"It's been a while, Pegasus." I stated coolly. It felt more than odd coming face to face with him again after so long, given events that had transpired in between times.

"Far too long, my dear, _far_ too long." He replied in an overdramatic fashion. "I am _oh_ so glad you could make it…it's just a shame your little Kaiba-boy here has gotten himself into _quite_ a pickle, though. You two would have made such a _handsome_ couple…"

I glanced down at Kaiba, who was grinding his jaw. _My_ "little Kaiba-boy"? But of course, he must have known we were travelling together earlier on in the day. He would have spies and cameras set up all over; he had known I was here the moment I stepped off the ship. Now I needed to find out _why_ I was here, why he had invited me in the first place. But before I could speak, Kaiba cut to the chase.

"Pegasus," Kaiba's deep voice resonated down the hall, demanding attention. "You have my brother, and I'm not leaving without him. Let's settle this once and for all!"

"All in good time, Kaiba-boy, all in good time."

With that, he clapped his hands twice, and some kind of hydraulic mechanism came down from the ceiling. Once it all clicked into place, it became obvious that it was a duelling arena. I had to admit, it was impressive technology, and I vaguely wondered if Kaiba had ever seen the likes of something like this before. _He_ was meant to be the whiz-kid after all.

"This, my duelling _champions_ , will be our duelling arena for the competition." Pegasus announced flamboyantly. "Now, Kaiba-boy, I have given you the honour to duel against me for a…hmmm…shall we say, a 'demonstration', right here, right now. What do you say?"

"Right _now_?"

"But of _course_ … it's the only opportunity you have to get your little brother back, after all…" Pegasus replied with a sadistic chuckle.

Kaiba clenched his fists. "Fine, then you'll have no trouble using this." Once again he opened his briefcase, and threw the duelling device across the room to him.

Pegasus fumbled with it. "What am I supposed to do with _this_? Bounce it like a ball, spin it like a top?"

"Cut the theatrics!" Kaiba was getting visibly irritated.

"Ooh. Kaiba means business… Well then," Pegasus said, crossing his arms. "Let's settle this like real businessmen, shall we? I'll agree to use your system if you agree to a request of mine,"

"What?" it was more a demand than a question.

"Nothing that will change the game of course, I just want somebody else to operate the device _for_ me."

I frowned. What was he _up_ to?

Pegasus clapped his hands again, issuing a command to one of his suits. To my utmost horror, one of the goons led out a little boy, a boy who I guessed was Kaiba's brother. His eyes looked vacant, and I knew instantly that something was very wrong. Kaiba remained steely, though I could tell he was trying hard not to crumble.

"It's Mokuba!" Yuugi exclaimed. "What has he _done_ to him?!"

"Mokuba!" Kaiba cried. After receiving no response from the boy, he said, "It's me…"

"I'm sorry if he doesn't seem quite like himself," Pegasus offered. "But I happen to find that the captives I keep are much better behaved after making an… _extraction_ , of sorts."

An _extraction_? _Now_ this was starting to unsettle me.

"You monster!" The fury on Kaiba's face was plain to see now.

"Now, now, Kaiba, petty insults won't get your brother's _soul_ back!"

Just about every single person in the room, save for Pegasus himself, gasped in astonishment. Now not only had he murdered my sister, tried to fraudulently take control of KaibaCorp, kidnapped Mokuba and Yuugi's grandfather – but now he was abusing children. I couldn't believe my eyes or ears. The man had sunk to a new low. And just how exactly had he _extracted_ Mokuba's _soul_? What kind of black magic - or _drugs_ – was he tampering with? And more to the point, _why_? An eerie silence followed. I could see Kaiba shaking in rage.

"Beat me in a duel, Kaiba, and I'll release him as promised."

"And if I lose?"

"Why, not only will Mokuba's soul remain in bondage – _yours_ will join it!" He replied theatrically, pointing a finger at Kaiba at the opposite end of the arena. "To get your brother back, you'll have to defeat _me_."

"Defeat you? I'll _crush_ you!"

"Kaiba, don't buy into this! There must be another way!" I yelled down, hoping that Kaiba's ego wasn't simply getting in the way here.

"Are you so sure about that, Lexie my girl?" Pegasus remarked.

I narrowed my gaze at him. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh yes…" Pegasus grinned up at me like the Cheshire cat. "There's a reason for your presence here too, my dear, but I'm sure you know that already, being the smart cookie that you are." he chuckled. "It will be _your_ turn next, and Kaiba-boy here won't be around to save you!"

I frowned. "Whatever you've got planned, Pegasus, don't think I'm not ready for it. There's a reason why _I'm_ here too, so quit it with your chitchat already!"

"Patience, lovely, _patience_ …" Pegasus drawled, gazing up at me with what I interpreted to be lusty contemplation. I shrank back from him. This was getting weird. "Good things come to those who wait. For now…" he turned his gaze back to Kaiba. "I have business to take care of."

The other finalists and myself went upstairs to view the duel from a bird's-eye view. Kaiba had decided it would be too difficult to duel if Mokuba was playing as Pegasus' pawn, so they began the duel on Pegasus' home turf. Both men were experienced in this regard, however, and I didn't suspect it would give either of them an advantage over the other. Kaiba was a quick learner. Pegasus began the duel by playing a monster on the field in defence mode and another card face down.

"Kaiba! You've got to believe in the heart of the cards!"

I glanced toward Yuugi. What was _that_ supposed to mean?

"Keep out of this, Yuugi! I'm fighting this duel _my_ way." Kaiba shot back.

"Is there a problem?" Pegasus inquired. "I believe it's your go, Kaiba-boy."

Kaiba drew, looking pleased at what he saw in his hand. He placed a card face down, then summoned Rude Kaiser in attack mode, and triumphantly destroyed Pegasus' defence monster.

Pegasus seemed to be stunned to say the least, but I knew this had to be an act. He summoned his Parrot Dragon monster to the field in attack mode and attacked the Rude Kaiser, until…

"I activate my face down card, Mesmeric Control!" Pegasus' Parrot Dragon's attack points were reduced by 800 points. Pegasus smiled in that way of his which gave me chills. Kaiba destroyed his dragon with his Rude Kaiser.

"Hey Reiko… do you think Kaiba has much of a chance against Pegasus in this duel?" Yuugi asked.

"To be honest, Yuugi, I think Kaiba's willpower to save Mokuba blinded him from the fact that he is _actually_ duelling the _creator_ of duel monster cards." I said frankly. "He might be the world champion, but I don't think he stands a chance without Toon World in his deck."

"That means that his soul is going to be trapped inside one of those soul cards! Just like Mokuba and my Grandpa!" Yuugi cried. I could hear the emotion in his voice; this was hard to watch for everyone, not just Kaiba.

"Then I guess it's up to us to save him." I muttered, thinking that this was _really_ what I didn't need.

Pegasus seemed to love taunting his opponents, judging by the way he ridiculed Kaiba to try and psyche him out. He started ranting on about his 'Sennen Eye', which I knew little about, and `Funny Bunny', a mindless children's cartoon that used to air back in America. I knew this because my younger sister, Essie, used to be obsessed with it, too.

I knew that Pegasus' left eye was replaced with a gold eye of some description after an accident on one of his expeditions to Egypt, but I wasn't exactly sure what it did – if it did anything at _all_. Yuugi had told me that it gave Pegasus the ability to read people's minds, so he knew exactly what his opponent was thinking and what cards they were about to play. As farfetched as it sounded, even if it were true, it was plain cheating, and I wondered why Pegasus would need to cheat at _all_ if he knew the game inside and out. Surely he would be able to defeat anyone even _without_ that kind of advantage?

"Oh please," the Barbie spoke up. "How can a fake _eye_ tell someone what other people are really thinking?" I guessed she was about as sceptical as I was.

"How can anyone win against that kind of power, Yuugi?" Jounouchi asked.

"With great difficulty. But don't leave Kaiba out just yet - he isn't renowned as World Champion for nothing." Motou answered.

I stood quietly by myself, leaning against the balustrade. I was trying to fathom out the duel if Pegasus drew his Toon World card before Kaiba played his Blue Eyes. If that was the case, Kaiba was doomed for sure.

A few turns later, I could see the panic starting to show on Kaiba's face. He looked just as baffled and incredulous as the rest of us did. Pegasus smirked over the field at him, asking what the holdup was as Kaiba tried to figure out his strategy. This duel was getting pretty ugly and was leaving everybody on a knife-edge, myself included.

"Did you like reading manga or comic books when you were a child, Kaiba-boy?" Pegasus asked, ever-so-casually.

Kaiba snarled at his sadistic opponent. "Just make your move."

"Funny Bunny is my favourite cartoon, Kaiba. He gives me great pleasure out of reading the manga." Pegasus laughed and made his move. To my horror, he placed Toon World on the field.

Recognition glimmered in Kaiba's eyes as Toon World sprung up onto the field. He glanced up at me fleetingly, recalling that this had very nearly been his demise in our own match the night before.

"You can do it, Kaiba." I said quietly. He looked back at his hand and placed Battle Ox in defence mode on the field and ended his turn.

Pegasus looked up at me. "Does this card look familiar, Lexus? Hmm? It should… it's the almighty Toon World card! I _do_ hope you've had a chance to use it, by now. If you haven't, you will soon!"

Would I? I wondered, as everybody gasped. I looked back at them enquiringly. Surely it was common knowledge, by now. My duel with Kaiba on the beach had spread across the island like wildfire.

"You have a Toon World card in your deck, Reiko?" Yuugi questioned.

"Yes."

"What does it do?"

I sighed. "Keep watching; you're about to get a crash course."

Yuugi looked back to the arena, looking especially worried. The Dark Rabbit which Pegasus had on the field disappeared into the Toon World book and came back out as a toon monster. It attacked Kaiba's Battle Ox and destroyed it, returning back to Toon World after its assault. Yuugi and the others were floored to say the least.

"Did you _see_ that?!" Jounouchi exclaimed.

Pegasus then drew a Blue Eyes Toon Dragon. Finally, by sheer luck if nothing else, Kaiba drew his Blue Eyes White Dragon, pleased that he had a monster which could match his opponent's. There were cries of joy from the crowd, but I knew it wasn't to last.

 _There's no use attacking him, Kaiba…_ But I had to let Kaiba fight his own battle. He attacked Pegasus' Blue Eyes Toon Dragon with his Blue Eyes White Dragon and looked startled at the result.

"What happened?! My Blue Eyes didn't even put a _dent_ in your toon dragon!" Kaiba screamed in disbelief.

Pegasus laughed again. "The cuddliest creatures _never_ get hit, Kaiba-boy. My Toon World protects _all_ of my toon monsters!"

Yuugi turned to me, aghast. "Is that _true_ , Reiko?!"

I nodded. "Yes. Toon monsters are almost unstoppable." If I was going to beat this kid in the finals, there was no way I was going to divulge any more information than that.

"You must be a pretty hard duelist to beat, Reiko." Yuugi said cheerfully. I looked down and eyed him sharply. Kaiba was doomed for sure now. I had little hope for him at this point.

Pegasus played the Shine Palace card, which pumped up the Toon Dragon's muscles to the point of nearly exploding. He was 500 points stronger. Pegasus ordered him to attack Kaiba's Blue Eyes but Kaiba countered the attack with the Negate Attack trap card. Things were starting to look up for Kaiba - he played the Shadow Spell magic card and stopped the Toon Dragon from attacking again and lowered its hit points to 700. He attacked it with his Blue Eyes and obliterated it. But still, even that was no match for the creator himself.

The duel finished by Pegasus playing his Dragon Capture Jar and his Dragon Piper to take control of Kaiba's Blue Eyes White Dragon. Pegasus ended the duel by playing the Devil Box monster card. Kaiba was defeated, and looked all the worse for it.

"I am so sorry, Mokuba," Kaiba said forlornly, his eyes cast downward. "Forgive me."

"Say goodbye, Kaiba…" Pegasus laughed manically as his soul drifted into the Soul Card between his two fingers.

I looked towards Kaiba's lifeless body. He appeared to be nothing but a soulless shell now. Some goons led him away. _I will avenge you Kaiba… there is hope yet._

"Ding-ding! Round two!" Pegasus jeered up at us like the madman that he was. "Step right up, _Lexus_ , it's your turn!"

I felt my blood turn to ice. "Don't you think that's _enough_ for one day, you sociopath?"

He tapped his finger on his lip. "I suppose you're right," he replied in a mock-sad voice. "It's a shame you're not feeling very playful. It's been far too long since I've seen my little _sister-in-law_!"

"Sister-in-law?!" I heard the others shriek in surprise.

 _Welp, that's_ that _cat out of the bag._

"Oh? You didn't know? Lexie here is on _family_ business, aren't you my dear?"

I felt my last nerve snap. "Pegasus, you might have your reasons for bringing me here, but I have mine, too. Let me tell you one thing – you are _not_ going to get away with whatever it is you've done to Kaiba and the others, including my sister. I will see to it that you are brought to justice for your despicable crimes against humanity!"

"Oh, boo," he pouted. "She has such a serious face doesn't she? It's a shame. She could have been such a _doll_."

Yuugi turned to me, obviously perplexed. "Reiko – uh, Lexus – uh – _whoever_ you are… _what_ is going on here?"

Ignoring him, I addressed Pegasus directly. "Pegasus, you killed my sister! I don't know for what reason you invited me here yet, but I'm glad you did, because Cecelia deserves justice, and that's the only reason I came!"

Pegasus put his hands to his mouth as if in shock. "Blasphemy! Lexie, how could you say such a thing? You knew very well that I loved Cecelia very much…she had a happy life here, but she became ill…"

"You knew _nothing_ , Pegasus! She was terrified of you and your sick games, and she had no way out! By the time she realised she was in danger of you, it was too late! You killed her and covered up her death!"

By this time I was panting, feeling like a caged animal having been let loose. I felt an immense surge of release having gotten that off my chest. A heavy silence fell upon the group as they merely stared at me like guppies.

"You are so very sadly mistaken, Lexie," Pegasus replied, sounding truly sorry for me. "But don't you worry; you will get your turn. The finals will officially commence tomorrow morning. Get a good night's rest, everybody!"

With that said, Pegasus and his goons vanished, leaving us standing there in shock on the balcony. I tried my best to compose myself, but found the need to have to sit. I was feeling faint and clammy, but more than anything, I was beyond furious. Pegasus had done something to hurt just about every one of us here – Yuugi, Kaiba, Mokuba and myself – not to mention Cecelia – and there was simply no way I could let him get away with it. I was starting to second-guess myself, wondering if I had grossly underestimated the difficulty of the task at hand. In my head, I had had it all worked out. I had been wearing a wire since I got inside the castle walls, with the police ready for my command to storm the complex. But now that Pegasus had already made mincemeat out of Kaiba, I felt unsettled and unsure of myself. My very life was at risk, but I couldn't stop now. I had come this far for Cecelia – and now the Kaiba brothers needed me, too. Aborting the mission was simply not an option, now.

"Are you alright?"

I looked up to see Yuugi hovering above me, extending a hand down to me. He seemed different somehow, his voice deeper than before, but maybe I was imagining it. "I'm fine…thank you."

"I don't think any of us were expecting what has just happened," he said.

No, his voice was _definitely_ deeper, and he was _taller_! I glanced harder at him. Was it even the same person?

"We all need a good night's rest to take on Pegasus tomorrow," the young brunette girl suggested.

She had a point. I was exhausted to the point where I could hardly think straight, and was seeing double, apparently. If I was going to be any good to _anyone_ tomorrow, I needed to be on my game, and that meant getting some sleep.

After reassuring the group of teens that I would be fine, I retired to my room for the evening. The encounter with Pegasus had shaken me to the point where I needed a glass of something to soothe myself. I found a bottle of brandy and some ice and poured myself a drink. Whatever was coming tomorrow was going to be nasty. Now I had an idea as to the scale of how malevolent a being Pegasus was. He preyed on children and the elderly, and if that wasn't enough, he robbed my sister – his own _wife_ – of her life and now he'd taken Kaiba, too. He was a sick, twisted individual who would stop at nothing in his pursuit for… _whatever_ it was he was seeking. He was evil personified, and he _had_ to be stopped.


	5. Black Magic

**Chapter Five**

 **Black Magic**

The next morning, the first official duel was up. The chosen duelists were Yuugi and Mai. Getting to see Yuugi duel in the flesh, I could see now why everybody raved about him. He certainly lived up to his elite status. Surprisingly, Mai forfeited the duel, and afterward informed Yuugi that he had better watch out next time they met in the arena. Fat chance of _that_ , I thought. If the island rumours were anything to go by, Mai had even lost to the young girl who was friends with Yuugi, and she wasn't even a _duellist_! I was baffled as to how she managed to secure a spot in the finals, at all.

Next up was Jounouchi and I. I was under no illusions that I could beat this kid – a piece of pie. How he made it to the finals left me truly incredulous; he had so much yet to learn, it was like duelling a primate. I vaguely heard Yuugi telling Jounouchi to be more careful this time, and that the only monster strong enough he had to try and defeat me was his Red Eyes Black Dragon. I snorted a laugh to myself and shook my head, smiling as he waved a fist at me from the other end of the arena, hurling pathetic insults at me. _Honestly, does this kid never give up? At least he has bravado._

The duel ended about as quickly as it began. Sure, Jounouchi _did_ play his Red Eyes, but it was no match for my Blue Eyes. Pegasus looked a little disappointed that I didn't even have to play my Toon World or any of my Toon Monsters. If nothing else, it provided comic relief for me in an otherwise grave situation that we were all in.

The final duel saw Yuugi and I face off against each other. I had to admit, for the first time in a while I was getting nervous before a duel. At this point, however, I didn't really care who won. That was not my primary reason for being here, after all. Yuugi was just as able to beat Pegasus as I was – as I soon found out, since he defeated me.

I was mildly wounded when Yuugi won, but it was well deserved. All of his friends cheered him on of course – I had no-one. After Pegasus declared Yuugi the winner and that the final duel against him would be held the following day, I tidied up my deck and went back to my room. I needed to regroup with myself to figure out my plan of attack. If Pegasus lost or won – it didn't matter. At the right moment, I would give my command and the S.W.A.T team would storm the island. It had been nerve-wracking knowing I was wired and having to keep a cool head, so as not to alert anyone.

I decided to go out onto the upper deck of the castle to get some fresh air. We hadn't been allowed to leave the duelling arena for over seven hours while the duels were taking place, and I was desperate for the salty ocean air in my nostrils. It was dark and windy outside when I reached the deck. I leaned against a turret of the stone wall of the castle and gazed out to sea. _Yuugi_ has _to win tomorrow. I hope he realizes how much is at stake. Firstly there's his Grandfather, but he has to consider the Kaiba brothers now, too._ _If he doesn't beat Pegasus, then that son of a bitch won't have any intention on releasing those which he has in his keep. He may be the only one who knows how to set them free._

I stiffened as I felt a presence behind me, but then relaxed as Yuugi – or, who I _thought_ was Yuugi – leaned against the turret beside me. He seemed to have appeared from nowhere.

"Are you not cold?" he asked with a calm smile.

I frowned. This was definitely not the young innocent boy I had come to know a few days ago. "Who _are_ you? You're not Yuugi, that's for sure."

His smile grew deeper, like he knew something I didn't. "I am Yami, Yuugi's other self."

"Huh. Well, _that_ explains everything." I replied dryly, realising I was now speaking to someone who harboured textbook Multiple Personality Disorder. I decided to play along with it.

"It's…a little more complicated than that, Reiko. If I tried explaining it to you, I'm quite certain you would never believe me."

"Well, _Yami_ , right now I've got nothing but time. So, why don't you just tell me what you tell everyone else?"

'Yami' ran a hand thorough his riotous hair. "You may have noticed that Yuugi wears a pyramid pendant around his neck," he offered, as a starting point, I figured.

"Yes…"

"Three thousand years ago, I reigned as an Egyptian king, a Pharaoh, but I remember nothing of it, not even my real name." he continued. "My spirit, though, was preserved inside Yuugi's Sennen Puzzle. I have deduced that Yuugi is the modern-day incarnation of me, and as soon as he put the pieces of the Puzzle together, I was able to be set free. I know not my purpose for being sealed inside for so long, or why now I have been released, but Yuugi has promised to help me on my quest for finding out who I really was, and unveiling the truth behind my long-forgotten past."

"Wait, wait," I stuttered, trying to get my methodical mind around this. "Let me get this straight. You're the _spirit_ of an ancient _Pharaoh_ , who was lying _dormant_ inside a piece of _jewellery_ for three _thousand_ years, until one day some Japanese _high school kid_ put together a _puzzle…_ and then poof! You arrive into the 21st century. Yet you have no idea _who_ you are, only that you were a member of Ancient Egyptian royalty at some point, and you don't know why you've been brought back to the present day?"

He smiled wryly. "Well…yes."

I folded my arms. "That story would make for a _very_ interesting defence."

He chuckled. "I know, it sounds strange, put like that. But that is not the reason I came up here." he gazed solemnly at me. "I wanted to let you know that I think your duelling skills are admirable, as well as your reason for being here. Yuugi and I, and the rest of the gang, are willing to help you bring Pegasus to justice."

"That's kind of you," I said, glancing back at him. His intense, radiant purple gaze was discomfiting me. "But the only thing I'm concerned for you about is that tomorrow, you have three souls counting on you. It's already too late for one of them – Cecelia – but your grandfather, and Kaiba and Mokuba…they _need_ you to win. Their lives are at stake, Yuugi – I mean, Yami…"

"Yes," Yami agreed. "Yuugi and I make a great team, Reiko, and we have our friends here to back us up. We all need to have faith that we can beat Pegasus tomorrow, and be prepared for whatever magic tricks he might have up his sleeve."

"Magic?" I scoffed. "There is definitely more going on here than merely card games and prize money; that much is obvious. But magic? I doubt it."

"You can't deny what you can't prove, Reiko," Yami countered. "How do you explain what Pegasus did to Mokuba and Kaiba?"

"Hypnosis, drugs," I shrugged. "I'm sure he named his company Industrial _Illusions_ for a reason." I was a little surprised at how gullible Yuugi appeared to be.

Yami looked somewhat thwarted. "And what about being able to read Kaiba's cards?"

"Well, that's one of the oldest tricks in the book. I've heard of other duelists being caught out doing the same thing, claiming psychic powers. Pegasus just had some kind of surveillance set up somewhere, informing him of what cards he was about to draw." I deadpanned. "These are all easily explainable ways of cheating, Yami."

Yami was quiet for a moment as he pondered this. "Perhaps; Pegasus _is_ a crook, after all. But something about _your_ story doesn't add up, either."

"No?"

"You said you didn't know why you were here, but then you said that the reason why you were here is that you thought Pegasus murdered your sister. Isn't that a little contradictory?"

"Pegasus _invited_ me here," I replied. " _That's_ the part I don't understand. Why would he want to lure me here, when he knows that my sister – his _wife_ – died under suspicious circumstances? Not to mention I'm a _lawyer_ , for Christ's sake!" I shouted against the wind, realising I was getting a little more worked up than necessary, and accidentally slipping into English. "I'm sorry." I said, composing myself.

"No, please, go on," Yami put a hand on my arm.

I breathed in deeply, collecting my thoughts. "Why would Pegasus invite me to join this competition when he knowingly killed my sister? It seems almost satirical. I know it's a trap, and for that I know I need to be on my guard at all times. But the invitation to compete in his tournament – not to mention the bribe – seemed like the perfect opportunity for me to come and avenge my sister's death. I couldn't say no."

Yami looked as if all the pieces had fallen into place now, if not a little surprised. "Pegasus bribed you to come here? How did he even know to invite you in the first place?"

"I guess he has his ways." I shrugged. "You only need to take one look at those goons to realise what dirty work they must be doing for him."

"What did he bribe you with?"

I looked up. "He gave me a Blue Eyes White Dragon, and Toon World."

"That makes it sound like he's trying to make up for something," Yami gathered.

"Precisely."

"Yuugi? There you are! Oh…am I interrupting something?"

"Anzu," Yami said quietly.

We glanced behind us to see the brown-haired girl, Anzu, approaching. Admittedly, I was starting to get cold, and there were other things I had planned for later on that I needed to be getting on with.

"I was just leaving," I declared. "Yami, good luck tomorrow."

"Reiko!" he called after me. "Please, watch yourself. We are all in very _grave_ danger."

When I turned back to face him, it was no longer Yami, but Yuugi, who stood with the girl on the castle rooftop. "Don't worry about me, Yuugi. Just don't let me down."

xXx

Now that it was dark, I figured it was as good a time as any to explore more of the castle, in the hope of finding the three – apparently _soulless_ – bodies. The first place that came to mind for keeping hostages was, obviously, a cellar of some kind. I cringed to think that it might have been those same dungeons in which Cecelia was abused – or even killed – by Pegasus. Nevertheless, Kaiba could be down there and if I had any hope at all of recovering him, now was the time to find him. Who knew what tomorrow was going bring?

The stairs to the basement weren't all that hard to find. I crept silently through the darkness of the corridors, lit only by lamps spaced every so often. A little further on, I could hear the unmistakable sound of newspaper rustling and someone whistling quietly. I backed up against the wall and spied around the corner, gripping Kaiba's pistol steadfastly down by my side. There was a man sitting on a chair in a black suit, reading a newspaper and whistling to himself. Behind him looked like a cell; black steel bars on the outside surrounding it. I recognized the thug as Kimo - one of Kaiba's former employees who turned over to Big 5 – it had been all over the newspapers. He was obviously guarding the Kaiba brothers' soulless bodies. I went in for the kill.

He jerked up from his seat, pulled a gun from his coat pocket and threw down his newspaper. "Hold it right there! This is a restricted area so I suggest you leave now!"

 _He's got a gun too. The only hope of getting past him is by swindling him…_ I tucked the gun into the back of my pants and thought hard and fast about what I was going to say and do next.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I think I'm lost. I was actually looking for the library. Do you think you could point me in the right direction?"

"The library?" he seemed dumbfounded that a library even existed in this castle; maybe there wasn't one. "You're miles away. I'll take you back up."

"Thanks."

As he drew closer and emerged into the light, I quickly dropped my knee into his crotch, sending him crumpling into a forward fold. Following that, I kneed him in the face – causing his nose to open and gush blood – and then came down on him with my elbow between his shoulder-blades to knock the breath out of him. To finish him off, I whacked him over the back of the head with the barrel of Kaiba's gun, completely immobilizing him. Those self-defence moves had come in handy more times than one, I thought.

In the inside pocket of my jacket I pulled out a roll of duct-tape and taped his mouth shut, and then zip-tied his wrists behind his back. Finally, I zip-tied his ankles together and bound them up to his wrists, behind his back, so he couldn't move – if and when he woke up.

"That out to hold you for a while, bloody ape."

Grabbing my flashlight, I looked inside the cell that Kimo had been guarding. Kaiba was slumped in the corner looking just as he had after the duel with Pegasus – completely zoned out. The lights were on but no one was home. I shot the lock on the cell and went inside. I would have to thank Kaiba at some point for having a silencer put on the handgun.

"Kaiba?" I whispered, shaking him a little, his head lolled to one side and then flopped down onto his chest. His skin was like ice as he stared into space, his arms and legs limp. It was as if he were nothing but a puppet. I brushed his bangs out of his eyes and shined my torch into his blue orbs. His pupils were still responsive, thankfully, and his pulse was normal and his breathing even. I shuddered to think of where his mind might have gone, though, and if it would ever be retrieved.

I heard a groan come from behind me. The thug must have woken. Leaving Kaiba's side, I went out of the cell to where Kimo was writing around on the ground. I squatted down beside him and ripped the duct tape off his mouth, eliciting a shriek of pain. I put my gun to the side of his head and motioned for him to be quiet, putting my finger to my lips, or face fatal consequences. He glared fiercely at me.

"What has Pegasus done to Kaiba, you bastard?"

"How should I know? I was just sent here to guard him!"

I could tell I wasn't going to get much out of this guy, and there wasn't a lot more I could do except kill him, although I didn't particularly want to do that, either. It would interfere with my plans.

"Tell me where the younger Kaiba sibling is, then."

"And what if I don't?"

"If you don't, I will kill you. Now, I can do this quick and painless," I said as I cocked the gun. " _Or_ I can strangle you with one of these," I held up another zip-tie, "Which I would get great pleasure out of, by the way."

"You have issues, lady."

"Like I said, you can have a bullet in your head or asphyxiation, which will it be?" I stood up and put my foot on his throat, forcing him to make a decision.

He gurgled and managed to choke out from under my grasp, "You'll find the brat in the top of the north tower."

I kicked him over onto his side and booted him in the spine. "Now that wasn't so hard, was it?" I turned to Kaiba's cell. "I'll be back."

Once again I duct-taped Kimo's mouth shut and made a turn for the corridor. Sprinting up the stairs again, I made my way through the castle until I came to the north tower. I found the little raven-haired boy lying on his side, just as lifeless as his elder brother. Suddenly, out of nowhere, an extremely strong grip took hold of my waist, crushing my ribs together, and slammed me against the tower door.

"Why don't you give daddy some sugar?" It was another one of Pegasus' goons, only this time bigger, and, if possible, uglier.

"Get your filthy hands off of me!" I cried, writhing in his grasp.

"Not before I get what I want, you dirty slut." He undid his zipper and took hold of my wrists in one hand while trying to rip off my pants with his other.

"You'll live to regret this, you repulsive creep!"

This guy was about twice the size as the one I had knocked unconscious in the dungeons. There was no way I could take him on myself, so my last option was to scream my head off. He couldn't hold my wrists and legs _and_ cover my mouth all at the same time.

By this time he had managed to rid me of my trousers, which were now around my ankles. He snorted and grunted as he pulled out his hardened manhood. I shrieked even louder and writhed even harder.

" _SOMEBODY HELP ME!_ "

"Let her go, you perverted animal!"

He turned his head to see who it was. It was Yuugi's alter-ego - Yami. What was this little runt thinking?! He was a quarter the size of the brute that was on me! Of all people to come to my aid, _him_?!

"Yami?!"

"Get lost, kid!" the henchman grunted. I could feel his erection trying to gain access as he pried my thighs apart.

"Your number is up! MIND _CRUSH!_ "

What happened next was surreal. When Yami put his hand in the air, the whole atmosphere seemed to crystallize and the colour of everything around me turned to a negative saturation, before the deafening sound of shattering glass could be heard. Simultaneously, my assailant fell to the ground and disintegrated right before my eyes! Whether it was my imagination, or some kind of odd trauma-induced hallucination, I didn't know. I immediately melted to the ground and, embarrassingly, started crying.

"It's okay, Reiko, you're okay now…" Anzu squatted down next to me. "Give us some privacy, guys, sheesh!"

"Oh, right, err! Sorry!" Yami, Jounouchi and Honda made themselves scarce.

"Are you alright?" she put her arm on mine.

Shakily, I got to my feet and pulled my pants back up. She looked at me with concerned blue eyes, and for a moment I felt like I could trust her.

"I'm alright," I replied. "But…" I shook my head, wondering if I had imagined it all. "What just happened, back there?"

"We heard you screaming for help," she replied. "Yami saved you by using his Mind Crush ability."

"Mind…crush?"

"That thug is in his rightful place now." Yami added, sagely.

"What were you doing up here, anyway?" Bakura asked me.

I glanced back at the door. "Mokuba's in there. I found Kaiba, too, in the dungeon."

Jounouchi peered through the grate at the top of the door. "Hey, it _is_ Mokuba!"

"Oh, Jou! Do you think we can break him out?" Anzu cried.

"Err…he doesn't look so hot. It looks like he's on another planet! Hey, Mokuba?!"

"It's no use," I spoke up. "Kaiba's the same; they've either been drugged or hypnotized in some way. They're unresponsive."

"Pegasus…" Yami growled, clenching his fist.

"Did you find Yuugi's Grandfather, too?" Jounouchi asked.

I shook my head. "I'm sorry, no." I glanced at the thick, solid metal bar that held Mokuba's chamber closed. Even Kaiba's revolver wouldn't be able to break through that, but I could at least get Kaiba to a safer place. "Will you help me move Kaiba? I managed to break into his cell, but this one might not be so easy."

The others agreed and we ran back down to the dungeons, where Kimo was still writhing around on the ground. Part of me wanted to knock him unconscious again, but Jounouchi and Honda took care of that for me, while Yami and I helped Kaiba get to his feet.

"Man, he looks like a zombie or somethin'!" Jounouchi exclaimed.

"His mind has gone someplace dark, for the moment." Yami replied. "Until Pegasus releases him, he is going to remain in this state. Reiko, where should we take him?"

Funnily enough, I hadn't thought about that, but the only place I thought was safe enough that I could keep an eye on him was in my guest room. "Let's take him to my room. I can keep watch over him."

I noticed Jounouchi and Honda exchange glances, and Anzu suddenly looked uncomfortable. Ugh, teenagers! When was sex _not_ on their minds?

"Don't even go there." I muttered, rolling my eyes. "Come on; this guy is heavy."

After we had ascended the stairs and made it up to my room, we laid Kaiba on the bed as gently as possible. I saw Yami and the others to the door, insisting I would be fine here with Kaiba because A) I could look after myself (with the exception of that last brute) and B) he was currently incapacitated.

"Thank you for your help, everyone. We all have a big day ahead of us tomorrow, so you should get some rest."

Yuugi nodded and the rest of them murmured in agreement before departing for their own rooms. Finally, I could rest. Locking and bolting the door firmly, and then dragging a cabinet in front of it so no culprits could enter in the night while I was asleep, I climbed into bed, lying awake for some time. So many lives were at stake that it was impossible not to think about the final duel tomorrow between Yuugi Motou and Pegasus J. Crawford.

xXx


	6. Ambiguity

Phantom: Hello everyone! Sorry it has been a while since I've updated this fic – I have been struggling to think of how to propel forward the next stage of the story (don't get me wrong, I have a lot written after this chapter, but it's gotten to a sticky point!). Keep the faith, though! I will finish this story, if it's the last thing I do! xD Enjoy my lovelies!

 **A Conflict of Interest**

 **Chapter 6**

 **Ambiguity**

xXx

The next day – or maybe it was two days – went by in a haze. I had an indistinct recollection of being winded and then thrown into a dark, damp place with a very cold, hard cobblestoned floor. However many hours I was in there, I couldn't tell. I must have been drifting in and out of consciousness, as the second time I awoke long enough to remember what happened, I was being carried out on a gurney by men dressed in what looked like black military uniforms. The last thing I recalled after that, before waking up in a hospital bed, was the sound of chopper blades.

"Hey, look! She's waking up!"

As I came to, the first thing I noticed was my head – it was throbbing something terrible, and I had a laceration on one side near my temple that had been stitched. I also noticed that I had minor cuts and bruises around my wrists, indicating I might have been tied up at some point. I felt a little nauseous as I sat up, and then it was with slight confusion that I noticed four people standing around my bedside. They were the kids from the island! The only person missing from the group was Bakura. There was something strange about that one…

"What are you all doing here?" I slurred, surprised that my senses seemed to be so dulled. I was almost sure I had been the victim of some kind of date-rape drug.

"We wanted to see how you were doing, Reiko." Yuugi said. "It's thanks to you that Pegasus and his evil operations have been foiled!"

"Man, that was _awesome_!" Jounouchi hooted. "The way those guys swooped down from the helicopters and stormed the place like that – I felt like I was on an episode of _Criminal Minds_ or something!"

"No one even knew you were wired!" Honda added, fist-pumping.

"Reiko, you kicked ass in there," Jounouchi confirmed with a nod.

"I don't remember…anything." I admitted, rubbing the back of my neck. "Can you tell me what happened?"

"Pegasus attacked you with his Sennen Eye," Anzu replied. "Yuugi tried to stop him, with the power of his puzzle, but then Shadi intervened!"

"Shadi?" I asked vacantly.

"Shadi is an ancient spirit that holds power over the Sennen Ankh and the Sennen Scales." Yuugi tried clarifying, to no avail. "He is the one who decides who are the chosen holders of the items."

I tried not to roll my eyes. "Okay…?"

"Shadi told Pegasus that he had gotten it all wrong, and that he had made a huge mistake in giving Pegasus the Sennen Eye." Yuugi went on, apparently ignoring my scepticism. "It was not in your destiny to become a part of Pegasus' hare-brained plan, so Shadi appeared to come and set things right. With the power of his items, and my puzzle combined, we were able to overcome the power of his Eye."

"Have I been on morphine?" I queried.

"I know it sounds far-fetched, Reiko, but you gotta believe us!" Jounouchi exclaimed.

"Well, whatever happened, I'm glad that we all got out of there alive, that's the main thing." This was met by a sudden silence. "Right?"

" _Almost_ everybody." Yuugi replied quietly. "Reiko…I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this, but Pegasus was found dead in the north tower of the castle, just before we left to come back to Domino."

"They think he commit suicide." Anzu added. "He even gouged his own eye out!"

I felt my body turn rigid. After all that I had gone through, putting my own life on the line and coming so close to bringing my sister to justice, the spineless snake goes and does that. "Bastard," I grumbled through grit teeth. "After all that! I can't _believe_ he would do that… Actually, I can. He was a coward from the beginning."

"I'm sorry, Reiko. I know that you wanted to get revenge for what he did to your sister. But at least you can take solace now in knowing that Pegasus won't be able to hurt anyone else, ever again." Yuugi put a hand on my arm as if to console me.

I shook my head in disbelief. Then something occurred to me. "Is your Grandfather alright, Yuugi? What about the Kaiba brothers?"

"They're all fine." he smiled. "But they may not have gotten out of this unscathed if it wasn't for you."

"Eh, speak of the devil. It's His Royal Smugness himself!" Jounouchi sneered toward the doorway as a tall presence made itself known.

"His ears must have been burning." Anzu said in a tone of distain.

"What are you dweebs still doing here?" Kaiba asked flatly.

"My Grandpa hasn't been discharged yet, Kaiba."

"That's too bad. Why don't you go and see how he's doing, then?" Kaiba replied in about the most impassive tone I'd ever heard, with the implication that he wanted them to all clear the room. I figured it was a teenage thing, but maybe Kaiba was an exception to the rule.

"I don't think Reiko is up for any more visitors today, Kaiba!" Anzu huffed, getting up in his grill with her hands on her hips.

"It's okay, Anzu." I said. "He's right, though, you guys should go and be with Yuugi's Grandpa. Thank you for coming to see me."

As they went to leave, Yuugi asked, "What are you going to do when you get out of hospital?"

"Go back to Sapporo, I suppose. That wasn't really the plan, but then again, neither was Pegasus killing himself." I deadpanned.

"Why don't you hang out with us in Domino for a few days? Check out the sights? Beats going back to cold old Hokkaido." Jounouchi suggested.

"He's right, we can show you around!" Yuugi agreed brightly.

"That's kind of you, but I have a job I need to get back to." I smiled at them. If nothing else, these kids were sweet.

"If you insist, but don't be a stranger, alright?" Jounouchi said on his way out.

"Would you lot just _go_ , already?" Kaiba was starting to sound irritated. "Lexus and I have business to attend to."

I cocked my head. "We do?"

"She's still in _hospital_ , Kaiba!" Anzu sounded appalled as Kaiba shut the door behind her.

"Finally." he muttered, taking a seat in the chair next to the window.

I floated my gaze over Kaiba's iridescent eyes, which had turned a luminous indigo in the late evening sunlight, streaming through the slats of the hospital blinds. I paused for effect, admiring the colour.

"What?" he had caught me staring.

I was quiet for a moment. The last time I had seen him, he had been unconscious in a prison cell; a lot had transpired since then and now. "Are you alright, Kaiba?"

"I'm fine." he replied curtly. "Yuugi told me everything that happened after Pegasus rendered me unconscious. If it wasn't for you, I might not have my brother or my company back. I owe you my gratitude."

Oh, so _that_ was it – wounded pride. I bet Kaiba hadn't had to thank many people in his life.

"Don't thank me, Kaiba, thank Yuugi. They were the ones that beat Pegasus in the duel, not me."

"That may be, but you negotiated with Yuugi in order to release Mokuba and I once the ordeal was over."

"Yes."

"Why would you do that?" he narrowed his eyes at me. "You had no reason, no obligation to do that. We are nothing, if not rivals."

I suddenly felt a little stilted. "Well, I… I couldn't just _leave_ you there, while the rest of us went on our merry way, now, could I? That would have been…somewhat heartless."

Perhaps, I thought, Kaiba wasn't familiar with any kind of emotion, other than callousness. I wondered if, had the shoe been on the other foot, Kaiba would have left _me_ there in such a vulnerable predicament. I chose not to voice that concern, figuring I already knew the answer.

"Ms. Sorenson?" the silence was broken by a nurse entering the room.

"Yes?"

"Your blood results have all come back clear. As soon as you're feeling up to it, you're free to go."

I frowned. "Clear? Did you run a toxicology report?"

She nodded. "Yes, of course. Everything came back perfectly normal. If you'll just sign this discharge form, you're free to go."

I glanced pointedly at Kaiba, and mouthed, "Nothing?"

"I was clear, too." Kaiba replied, after the nurse had left.

"That must have been some mighty strong hypnosis we were put under, then."

"So it would seem."

Suddenly, Mokuba burst into the room. " _There_ you are, bro! I've been looking all over for you."

Kaiba glanced at me pointedly before standing up. "My work here is done. Come on Mokuba, let's go home."

"Wait, Seto," the boy said, and then turned to me. "Where are _you_ going to stay tonight?"

Stupidly, I hadn't thought about that. I hadn't even given a thought as to what I would do once I reached Domino City, let alone expect to end up in hospital. My main intention had been getting Pegasus incarcerated – and look how _that_ had ended. When was the last time I even ate?

"I'll find a hotel room."

"Don't be silly, you can stay with us!" Mokuba chirped. "Right, nii-sama?"

Well, this was about to get awkward.

"Uh…well…" Kaiba sounded unsure to say the least.

"That won't be necessary." I insisted. "I'll find somewhere in the city."

"Come _on_ , Seto! She saved both of our lives, _and_ your company. It's the least we can do to thank her!"

This was followed by an emphatic eye-roll from Kaiba. Somehow, I imagined that guilt-tripping was one among many of Mokuba's powers of persuasion used against his brother in times like this.

"Might as well make use of one of the guest rooms, then." he sighed dismissively. After signing his and Mokuba's hospital discharge forms, he motioned for his brother and I to follow.

"Yeah, alright!" Mokuba fist-pumped enthusiastically. "Come on Lex-senpai; let's get out of this stinky old place. Our driver will be waiting for us."

After changing out of the hospital gown and back into my own clothing, Mokuba grabbed my hand and all but dragged me down the hospital corridor, trailing his elder sibling. I couldn't help but wonder how the two were related; Mokuba seemed to be the polar opposite to Kaiba in terms of personality, but then again, he still possessed the untainted innocence of a child.

Without pondering on the topic too long, I figured that Kaiba had probably been subjected to a gruelling upbringing by Gozaburo, having usurped the man's status as CEO of his own company at the mere age of 16. It took a lot of time and study to understand the complexities of the commercial world, and given that Kaiba already had such knowledge of it, I liked to bet that he was just as ruthless in his pursuits in his personal life as he was in his professional.

When we got into the waiting limousine, Mokuba was still bouncing off the walls, asking me all sorts of questions about my dueling skills, my work, my family (or lack thereof), what life was like in America, and so forth. He was still too young and naïve to realise that it was impolite to be so nosey.

To the latter question, I responded, "I couldn't tell you, Mokuba; I haven't lived there since I was eighteen."

This evoked a quizzical look from him. " _Eighteen_? But you don't look–"

Followed by a curt, "Mokuba." from Kaiba.

"How long have you been here, then?"

It was not lost on me that this was another attempt at finding out my age. "A few years, now."

That didn't seem to satisfy him, but he had no comeback, so nothing more was said. Kaiba himself seemed pleased that that particular subject was now closed.

"Seto?"

"Yes, Mokuba?"

"I'm hungry."

"We've got plenty of food at home."

"Can we go to _Monsieur Kwong's_?"

Kaiba glanced at his wristwatch. "I suppose rush hour will be over by now," he mused, more to himself than anyone else.

This was met with great enthusiasm from the younger sibling as Kaiba asked the chauffeur to change course. Many coloured neon lights soon came into view; a sure indication that we had arrived in the Chinatown district of Domino. We parked down a narrow and discreet alleyway – to avoid paparazzi, I assumed – and entered through the back entrance of a nondescript, hole-in-the-wall restaurant, after first identifying ourselves to the bolshie bouncer. _Monsieur Kwong's_ was what I assumed to be a Vietnamese restaurant styled to resemble Saigon in the French colonial era, presenting with a fusion of antique French and oriental décor.

There was a mildly strained silence after we sat down. A few months ago, back home in Sapporo, I could never have imagined actually coming face to face in a duel with Kaiba Seto, the teenage business tycoon, let alone be sitting down to dinner with him. I quickly glanced at the menu, but it seemed Kaiba was one step ahead of me, ordering what I presumed was his usual – both deep-fried and fresh spring rolls, octopus balls, prawn dumplings and three bowls of _pho_. This was all preceded by a steaming pot of jasmine tea, which the waiter kindly poured for us. Mokuba opted to have a bubble tea, instead.

"So, aren't you guys gonna fill me in on what happened?" Mokuba glanced enquiringly at us both, slurping loudly on his drink.

I looked to Kaiba, sure it was better off he that explain the whole state of affairs, than me.

"It's all been taken care of, Mokuba," Kaiba replied, elegantly sipping his tea. I found myself admiring his slender, yet masculine fingers. I turned away, feeling slightly odd for doing so.

"Oh, come on big bro, give me the dirt!" Mokuba looked appalled. "Has that Pegasus creep been taken down, or what?"

"Let's just say, he won't be bothering us too much, anymore." Kaiba responded. "But it couldn't have been done without Lex's help."

I was met with a cool azure gaze on me from across the table. I didn't think I had really helped Kaiba out _that_ much. I had pulled him out of a sticky situation in terms of bargaining with Yuugi to release him if he won the match against Pegasus, sure. But apart from that, I had had my own agenda for being there. Kaiba was a plot device in _my_ plan as much as _I_ was in Pegasus's. I felt just as perplexed as Mokuba now looked.

"How do you fit into all of this _anyway_ , Lex?" the boy enquired, and rightly so.

"I had my own score to settle with Pegasus," I replied, sparing him the grim details. "However, it seems obvious now that holding a tournament was just a thinly-veiled disguise to get us all on the island at the same time. He intended to destroy us all – you, me, your brother, Yuugi – everyone. Too bad it backfired on him."

"That's right! No one takes on the _Kaiba_ brothers and gets away with it!" Mokuba couldn't look more proud of himself if he tried.

The remainder of the meal was spent mainly evading questions fired at me from Mokuba; the kid was just too damned inquisitive for his own good. Thankfully, I had mastered the art of deflecting direct hits – not only when it came to duelling, but in the courtroom also, and this skill sometimes flowed through into everyday life. I could see Kaiba was wryly amused at my counterattacks against his younger sibling and almost appeared to be purposely remaining silent. By the end of it, Mokuba appeared both frustrated and exhausted.

Shortly after dinner, we arrived at the Kaiba Estate, which I had expected to be something ostentatious, but perhaps a more refined adjective should have been used. The house – or should I say, _mansion_ – appeared to have been built in the 1920's or 30's era (before the depression, at least) and was, in fact, exquisite in every way imaginable. It reminded me strongly of Jay Gatsby's residence in the cult film, "The Great Gatsby".

It was large – _far_ too large for two boys to be living here alone, at least, but I presumed they would have a whole entourage of in-house staff that overlooked the estate, also. The chauffeur made a circle around the fountain at the end of the tree-lined driveway and let us out outside the grand front entrance. Even at night, up close it was spectacular.

 _This house is fit for a king_ , I thought, following the brothers up the steps, through the foyer and into the vast living room – what I suspected was one of many. Being the history buff that I was, I had to enquire. "Kaiba, when was this place built? And for what purpose?"

"1925," he replied. "I believe it was the summer residence of the monarch at that time."

"It's beautiful."

"I had it remodelled inside, but retained many of its' original features."

I glanced around, noting that indeed new carpet had been laid, where the floors were wood they had been re-lacquered, walls painted or wallpapered with contemporary oriental patterns, light fixtures had been replaced, and so forth. An impressive art collection hung about the walls, and I liked to bet that many of them were original works.

"Time for bed, kid."

The boy made a face at his brother. "But I'm not even tired!"

"No, you're _over_ tired."

"I slept long enough while I was in a coma!"

"That's not funny, Mokuba." Kaiba was starting to get irritated now.

Mokuba grinned, knowing all too well how much he was riling his older brother up. He made a break for the stairs. "I can sleep when I'm _dead_!"

"Get to bed, _now_! I'll come and check on you soon."

Mokuba's laughter slowly faded as he disappeared down the upstairs corridor. I shuddered a little; there was something creepy about hearing a child's laughter echoing through a big old, empty manor like this. Kaiba hung up his coat and sauntered into what looked like some kind of sitting room. I needed no invitation to follow him. Floor-to-ceiling bookcases lined the walls and leather-studded couches and armchairs filled the space. They looked well-loved. I wondered if they were antique.

"Care for a nightcap?"

"Aren't you a little young to be drinking?" I queried, gazing at the impressive collection of liqueurs in one of the cabinets.

"Courtesy of my late stepfather." Kaiba replied, stepping up behind me.

Of course, this estate had once belonged to Gozaburo Kaiba. I had heard about that a couple of years back. Suicide, apparently. It had been quite the scandal.

I gazed around the room, which was lit softly by lamps placed here and there, giving off what one might have almost said was a romantic ambience. Aside from that, it was very masculine, with mostly dark timber and leather furnishings. Few artworks adorned the walls in this particular room, and those that did were abstract in nature.

Kaiba reached into the cabinet and, selecting a crystal decanter filled with an amber liquid, he poured us each a drink. I took the tumbler from him, murmuring my thanks. There was nothing to toast to on such a sombre evening, so we merely nodded to each other and swilled. I decided to turn a blind eye to the fact that he was a minor, just this once. Having been kind enough to let me stay with him, it would have been rude to press the issue.

"So, what happens now?" Kaiba asked, making himself comfortable in one of the plush leather armchairs.

"Not much, I expect." I mused, feeling disappointed by the outcome. "If Pegasus hadn't topped himself, I would have had a chance at getting him to trial."

Kaiba exhaled slowly. "Would you have represented the prosecution?"

"No. As much as I would have liked to, criminal litigation is not my area of expertise." I replied. "Besides, it would have been a conflict of interest, being that I am one of the victim's relatives. The court wouldn't have allowed it, even if I wanted to."

"What _is_ your area of expertise, then?"

"Counsel for child, mostly. Some commercial and contract, here and there."

"You act for children?" for some reason he seemed surprised by this.

"Children are the most vulnerable of us all. The innocent need the most protection," I said, thinking of my sister. "Cecelia was barely out of adolescence herself, when she died. She had nobody to protect her against him."

Kaiba was silent for a long moment, realising, perhaps for the first time, that I carried the burden of my sister's death on my shoulders. Many had told me that I was not to blame, that there was nothing anybody could have done. That her death had occurred under tragic circumstances. My parents probably blamed themselves even more, letting their sixteen-year-old child marry and then move to an isolated island on the other side of the world, not knowing anybody but her husband.

"She was so naïve," I thought out loud in a croaky voice, feeling the hot prick of tears well up in my eyes. "I begged her not to go. I begged and pleaded with my parents not to let him take her. But they said that since she was a married woman now, it was for her to decide. Cecelia reassured me that she was going to continue her schooling by correspondence on the island and begin her studies to become a florist after that, that everything would be fine.

"She was sixteen when she left, and seventeen when she died. She spent her last birthday on that island, alone and frightened, with nobody to run to, nobody to protect her from him."

By this time, tears were trailing down my face. I extracted a handkerchief from inside my suit pocket and dried them, feeling foolish for letting my emotions overcome me like this, especially in front of Kaiba. "I'm sorry," I sniffed. "I haven't spoken openly about her like this in a long time."

Blue eyes gazed at me studiously from across the room. I wondered what he was thinking. Kaiba was notoriously known to be a gifted young man and it was almost like I could see the cogs working in his head, like he wanted to solve this mystery as much as I did.

"Are you the only one who believes Pegasus murdered her?"

"I am the only one who _admits_ it." I replied, grinding my jaw. "My family refuses to speak of the matter. They know as well as I do that she didn't get sick, like Pegasus claims. What could she have gotten sick from, living on an isolated island, that would kill her so quickly? If she had been feeling unwell, she would have told me in her letters. And why did he decide to have a private burial without inviting any of us? It seems obvious to me that he's trying to cover something up."

"What does her official death certificate state?"

I grimaced and looked away. "' _Cause of death unknown'_."

I could see now that Kaiba believed my theory had some merit, that I wasn't merely dreaming this scenario up in my head. "It seems that Pegasus got himself into more hot water than just company fraud, then."

"Not that any of it matters, now."

Kaiba was quiet for a while, so quiet that I thought our conversation had ended there. But then he said, "My mother died giving birth to Mokuba, when I was four."

I looked at him. "I'm very sorry to hear that."

"Then our father was killed when I was eight," he added quietly. "Car accident."

I said nothing. What _could_ be said? Was he trying to make me feel better, somehow? Death was an ugly subject either which way.

"We could have used someone like you to represent us, before we were thrown into an orphanage."

Ah. So that's what he was getting at.

From what I had heard, Kaiba, at the tender age of 10, had taken it upon himself to challenge the business tycoon and chess champion, Gozaburo Kaiba, at his own game. If he came out as the victor – which he did – then Gozaburo was to adopt the two of them in return. Perhaps, in hindsight, it hadn't been such a wise idea. I can't imagine what the "guardians" at the orphanage had been thinking, allowing a ten year old to execute such a premeditated plan right under their noses. Kaiba was obviously gifted – or would that be cunning? – from a young age, but being so young he wouldn't have had any idea that he would have been able to have someone legally represent him.

"You were but a child," I replied. "You couldn't have known."

" _Anything_ seemed like a better option than staying at that orphanage, at the time." he replied. "I just wanted a better life for Mokuba and I. I thought Gozaburo could provide that… I was naïve."

I wondered if perhaps this was one of those rare moments when Kaiba admitted he had been wrong about something. He didn't seem like the kind of person who admitted defeat so easily. "Do you ever wonder what your life might be like now, if you hadn't been adopted by him?"

"What would be the point in that?" he snapped, looking me square in the eye. "You can't change the past, so why bother fantasising about such things."

Ouch, raw nerve.

I gathered that, having said that, he would disclose nothing further about his childhood to me, and the conversation was deemed at an end. Perhaps he had told me too much already, although I couldn't think as to why he had seemingly become so defensive about it. Was it because he felt guilty for his choices way back then? That, maybe, if he hadn't been so intent on Gozaburo adopting them, that a more _normal_ family might have come along, instead? Only Kaiba himself could have known.

After some time of silence – and what looked to be quiet contemplation on Kaiba's part – I could feel fatigue catching up on me. It had been both physically and emotionally draining having to play along in Pegasus' sick little game, and subsequently ensuring the safety of Kaiba, Mokuba _and_ Yuugi's grandfather, once the nightmare was over. It was now after midnight, and my overtired brain was already onto the next event – dealing with my boss. It quite literally didn't bear thinking about.

I swished the dregs of my drink around in the glass and finished it off. Setting the tumbler back onto the side table, I came eye to eye with Kaiba, who had now come back from his time of reflection.

"I must get some rest. We've been through quite an ordeal, and I don't do late nights quite like I used to."

Kaiba gave me a wry smile. "How old _are_ you, anyway?"

I touched the side of my nose. "That would be telling."

"25?"

I shot him a glare. "Let's not get carried away, now."

"23?"

"Getting warmer."

"I'm usually pretty good at guessing games."

"I'm sure there are plenty of things you're good at, Kaiba." I humoured him, thinking that flirting was certainly not one of them, if that was what he was trying to do. "But for now, the best thing you could really do is show me where I'm sleeping tonight, otherwise I will see myself to the door."

Kaiba beckoned me to follow him, and I reluctantly unfolded myself and got up from the luxurious recliner. As I walked behind him, I had to blink to remind myself of how tall he was, towering almost a foot over myself. He had picked up Mokuba – who had snuck back down at some point during our conversation – from the couch to take him back to bed.

Drowsily, Mokuba put his arms around his brother's neck and mumbled sleepily in that way that children do when they were too far gone into the land of nod. He was at that tender age, right before adolescence, where boys were still loving and clingy, before that overwhelming surge of testosterone hit and would change everything forever. In a way, it seemed like Kaiba was cherishing it while he still could.

I followed Kaiba up two flights of stairs to the third and top level of the house, and down a long, carpeted hallway. I stopped briefly outside Mokuba's room as I waited for Kaiba to put him into his bed. He re-emerged a few moments later, and we continued on.

"You can use the guest room down here." Kaiba stated, pushing open one of the closed cream doors. "If there's anything you need, I'm sure you'll be able to find it."

His room, I assumed, was behind the double doors at the end of the hallway, about 20 feet away.

"Thank you, Kaiba. This is kind of you."

As he turned to go, he turned and looked back over his shoulder. "That's not how most people like to describe me."

I laughed. "And what would they know?"

He turned around fully. "Not as much as you." he said, a wry smile gracing his lips.

I wondered what he meant by that. Perhaps he'd never talked about his past with anyone, until tonight. "Good night, Kaiba-san."

He nodded. "Goodnight, Sørensen-senpai." We bowed subtly to each other before I closed the door behind me with a soft click.

Inside, the guest room was just as breath-taking as the rest of the house, bedecked in neutral tones of sand and cream with a vintage French flavour to it. It had an outdoor balcony that overlooked the gardens, a study nook and its own ensuite bathroom. I almost felt like I was staying in a five-star hotel. This was most certainly better than any hotel I would have gotten into tonight – and it was free.

Feeling tired in my bones, I wasted no time in putting the plush, feather-stuffed bed to good use. Stripping off and climbing in, I closed my eyes and remembered nothing more.

xXx


	7. Loose Ends

**Chapter 7**

 **Loose Ends**

The following morning, I was rudely awoken by the sound of something tinny and irritating. Coming back into awareness, I realised that it was my cell phone, and was dismayed to see that it was my boss, Nobita, calling. My back protested as I sat up in the plush bed, eliciting a few cracks and pops. I cleared the sleep from my eyes, put on my glasses and tapped the 'answer' button.

"Yes, this is Sorensen,"

" _About time you picked up your phone! Where in damnation have you been, Sorensen-san? You've been M.I.A for the past 36 Goddamn hours!"_

"Nice to hear from you too, Shacho-san," I answered, monotonously. "I've been…tied up." I added, thinking that that actually wasn't too far from the truth.

" _Well, I'm pleased to hear that you're alright."_ he said, having now calmed down somewhat. It didn't take long for him to blow his top, but it usually didn't take him long to pipe down, either. I had come to know this over the past couple of years – short man syndrome.

" _Pegasus' demise is all over the news. You should see it: '_ Lawyer takes life in own hands in the name of justice' _! You've gone above and beyond your call of duty for the firm, and for that I would like to congratulate you."_

"Thank you, sir."

" _I would also like to offer my sympathies for the fact that the slime-ball killed himself. It's not what Cecelia deserved."_

I felt momentarily awkward. "Thank you…sir."

" _Where exactly are you right now, anyway?"_

"I'm…" I wondered whether I should actually divulge that information. "I'm in Domino City. I'll be back in Sapporo later today or tomorrow."

" _Good, very good, because we need you here. You've been nominated for another case which requires urgent attention. I'll email you the brief – you've got your laptop, don't you?_ "

"Well yes, but…can't Hitachi-san do it? He's had capacity lately."

" _You're the best we've got for this kind of case, kiddo. You're in the right place for it too – the client just so happens to reside in Domino. I just need you back in Sapporo to debrief with the rest of the team. You can work remotely on the case, if that's easier for you_."

I pinched the bridge of my nose, sighing mutedly. No matter that this whole quest for incarcerating Pegasus was actually a rather _personal_ matter, to me; Nobita seemed to forget that. Then again, it wasn't his fault that the Court had appointed me for this new case. It happens. Still, I should have known better than to mix my personal and professional lives and asked for a personal leave of absence in the first instance.

"What exactly is this new case, Shacho-san?"

" _Custody; we're defending. It is in our client's best interests to defend his right to full custody of his granddaughter, after her parents were tragically killed in a skiing accident in the Swiss Alps. A relative has brought the proceedings."_

I sighed, pitying the child. "How old is she?"

" _Twelve."_

"And who's the plaintiff?"

" _An aunt, supposedly, who the girl is very close to. I'm not gonna lie – she's got a decent shot at winning this."_

"Christ."

" _But you're good, Sorensen, especially when it comes to the kids_."

"It's not the children I have the problem with, Shacho-san. Who's the Court going to think is best fit to care for her – trusted aunt versus senile old grandfather?"

" _He's not senile,"_ Nobita snapped. _"That much I_ do _know. Quite the opposite, in fact."_

"Enlighten me."

" _Not over the phone. But you could say the client is…'high-profile'_."

"I have enough 'high profile' on my plate as it is, right now!" I exclaimed, barely refraining from mentioning that I was currently sitting in one of Japan's most acclaimed celebrity mansions.

" _I know!"_ he exclaimed jubilantly _. "Isn't it great? We're getting so much press from this!"_

I sighed. Although I admired my boss in many ways, he also had a tendency to push his delegates to the extreme. "Shacho-san, you may or may not have realised, by now, but I'm not-so-secretly in cahoots with the CEO of Kaiba Corporation, right now, as well. It's a long story."

" _I knew it!_ _Talk about getting our name out there. You're the best advertising we've had in years, kid. No one wants to come up to the cold old north for their legal affairs, anymore, but you can bet there will be an influx after this is all over, just you wait!"_

"So, what's in it for me, then?" I ground my teeth, wondering how I had suddenly become Nobita's workhorse without any kind of carrot seemingly being dangled.

" _If you can pull this off, there will be a huge payoff_. _Bottom line_."

"What _kind_ of a payoff?"

" _We can discuss that when you're back here."_

That had better mean making me an associate, I thought, grudgingly. It was what I had been working toward for some time, now, what just about every lawyer aspired to be.

"And what if I _don't_ pull it off?"

" _Have you lost a custody case, yet?"_

I faltered. "Well, no…but…"

" _Exactly! There's no one better fit for the job."_

I was going to say, _"I'm still young!"_ , but it was too late, now. I was cornered.

"Fine. If I can get things wrapped up here, I'll book a flight back to Sapporo as soon as I can."

" _Good on you, kid. I'll see you in a few days."_

With that said, I bid him farewell and hung up, flopping back onto the pillows. I felt like I had just jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire _. I must be insane for taking on another job right now_ , I thought to myself, covering my face with my arms. It wasn't long before other such inane thoughts began ruminating in my mind, such as, _where am I going to base myself if I have to move to Domino temporarily? How am I going to get around? I don't even know where the courthouse is here! Who is this 'high-profile' client, anyway? It's not like I need any more publicity right now…_

Abruptly, my phone rang again, startling me out of my thoughts. "Yes?"

" _Awake at last, I see."_

I looked at the time and was aghast that it was almost ten o'clock. "Kaiba?"

" _Duh."_ Damned moody teenagers.

"Uh…where are you?" I fathomed he obviously wasn't here, if he was calling me.

" _At work,"_ he sounded deadpan. _"Where else would I be on a Saturday morning?"_

"Oh, I don't know, riding your Blue Eyes White Dragon around the back yard, sipping on a dry martini?" the sarcastic bitch in me suddenly slipped past my tongue. That didn't happen very often. I _must_ have been grumpy.

" _Better mine than yours, wouldn't you think?_ "

I should have known his wit would outdo mine. "Too bad for you. Where's Mokuba?"

" _He's with me. Listen, we have a little situation here."_

Like I didn't have enough of _those_. I rubbed my eyes. "What kind of a situation?"

" _I have reporters_ and _the police breaking down my door wanting answers about this whole state of affairs, but I won't speak to anyone without a lawyer present."_

"What, and _you_ don't have a _lawyer_?" I found this hard to believe.

" _Not for_ this _kind of thing_."

"And what do you want _me_ to do about it?"

" _What do_ you _think? Use your golden tongue and make them disappear_!"

Now my head was starting to throb. "Well, it's your lucky day, Kaiba, because I need to speak with the police, anyway."

" _Lucky for_ me _?"_ He scoffed _. "_ I'm _the one letting_ you _stay at my house right now, remember?"_

I rolled my eyes. "You always have to get one up on people, don't you?"

" _Enough of this chitchat. Get here now or you can get out of my house, stat."_

Or what, you'll 'release the hounds'? I felt like saying. A small part of my mind didn't doubt he probably actually _had_ hounds on the estate, somewhere.

"And how do you expect me to do that? I have no idea where in this city I am…or where your office is, for that matter."

" _Take the Volvo. Keys are on the rack in the kitchen. It has GPS and cruise control."_

My mouth fell open. "You're not old enough to _drive_!"

" _And what are_ you _gonna do about it?"_

With that he promptly hung up. I guessed that I didn't have a say in the matter. Either do what the kid-billionaire said, or I was gonna get it, one way or another. _Not like I'm planning on staying, anyway_ , I grumbled, putting a reminder in my phone to book a ticket back to Sapporo later in the day.

"Right," I said out loud, all but _throwing_ my cell phone into my briefcase and grabbing my clothes which, weirdly, seemed to have been dry-cleaned and pressed overnight. "Time to visit the circus."

xXx

After working out the contraption that was Kaiba's car (which came with keyless entry and voice-recognition operation), I punched in the destination to the KaibaCorp Tower and was on my way, gliding down the slick highways of Domino into the Central Business District. The ride was so smooth I almost felt nauseated by the time I arrived, but that nauseous feeling only escalated when I saw the heaving crowds outside the foot of the building. No doubt Kaiba was up there looking down on the riot like some sort of ant farm. Somehow, I had to steer clear of the main entrance, and thanked the Gods when I was given clearance to drive through to the carpark in the basement. Clearly, Kaiba had instructed his suits that he was expecting me.

I was escorted without much fuss by two security officers after showing my identification, and the three of us then stepped into a swanky elevator. I had a rather irrational fear of heights and must have been white as a sheet by the time we arrived at the top and stepped out onto the top floor.

Shakily, and trying in vain to calm myself, I entered Kaiba's office, staying well away from the windows. Kaiba stood by said floor-to-ceiling windows, arms folded, gazing down at the commotion. I hated to admit that the kid looked good in more casual weekend gear, adorned as he was in smart denim jeans and a plain black cashmere sweater. I cleared my throat slightly.

"What a to-do," Kaiba muttered, turning to face me. He glanced at the white leather chair opposite his desk and beckoned me to it. "Sit."

Before I even had a moment to lift a toe off the ground, I was greeted with a shrill, "Hey, Lex-senpai!" Mokuba leapt up onto the back of the sofa, which faced the window. "Are you going to make those pesky reporters go away?"

"That's the idea. But I need to speak to your brother, first." I gave Kaiba a pointed look. "In private." This was not a conversation to be heard by an eleven year old.

Kaiba motioned for his younger brother to make himself scarce. "You heard her."

"Aw, but Seto!"

" _Now_ , Mokuba. I won't be long."

"Man, I _never_ get to do anything cool!"

Kaiba sat smoothly down behind his desk and interlaced his fingers. "Stubborn as a mule, that kid." he muttered.

"I wonder where he gets _that_ from." I replied dryly.

He rolled his cerulean eyes. "Let's cut to the chase. Those vultures out there want to know why I was taken prisoner, why my brother was _kidnapped_ , why Pegasus is dead and what any of this has to do with _you_. How do you suppose we go about that?"

"Well, I can't make a statement on your behalf, for starters."

"What? Why?"

"Why should I?" I crossed my arms. "I'm not representing you. I don't even have someone to represent _myself_."

Kaiba frowned, staring at me for a few moments in thought. Then, he punched in some numbers on his desk phone, putting it to speaker.

A young female answered. _"Takenouchi & Associates, how can I help you?"_

"I would like to speak to Okakura-san."

" _One moment."_

" _Moshi-moshi? Okakura speaking."_

"Okakura, Kaiba."

" _Ah, Kaiba-san! I was expecting to hear from you at some point. Quite a scandal you've got yourself caught up in! What can I do for you?"_

"You're fired, effective immediately. Send my all of my files to my office without delay; I have a new attorney."

Indigo eyes pierced mine and before the bewildered man on the other end of the phone had a moment to splutter for an explanation from his now-former client, Kaiba's finger was on the disconnect button. He glanced smugly over the desk at me.

"Consider yourself hired. Now you _have_ to represent me."

Jesus Rollerblading Christ. Kaiba Seto – and, therefore, KaibaCorporation itself – was now my client. Me, a former New York assistant DA residing in the coldest, most isolated reaches of Japan, working for a tiny family-owned law firm, now represented Kaiba Seto, one of the wealthiest and most powerful men in Asia. He had put me in a sticky situation by doing that, but like I could refuse!

"I can act for you personally, Kaiba, but your company…is going to take a whole _team_ of us to manage its affairs."

"Is that a problem?"

"There are only seven lawyers at the firm I work for….in _Sapporo_." I reminded him. "A little inconvenient, isn't it?"

"For _you_ , maybe." Kaiba retorted. "You'll be down here a lot."

I rolled my eyes. This kid was obviously used to getting what he wanted, when he wanted it, but there were certain criteria that, as my client, he had to adhere to at the same time. I opened my briefcase and extracted a couple of forms.

"I'm going to need you to sign this before I can start acting on your behalf," I said, sliding it across the table. "And unless you intend on paying for my flights, it'll be video conference."

Kaiba grunted, signed the form without so much as a bat of an eyelash and slid it back to me. "Are we done? The masses need feeding."

"We're done." I muttered, slotting the signed consent form back into my briefcase. Grabbing a pen and pad, I began to draft down an appropriate statement to release to the media.

"You're going to handwrite it?" Kaiba seemed perplexed by this.

"I think better when I write." I replied, still looking at my pad. "Now, either take me to a spare office, or be quiet."

Kaiba grunted again and went back to his own work. "This better not take long. I have a meeting shortly with–"

"I _said_ , hush!"

xXx

" _Pegasus James Crawford, former CEO of Industrial Illusions Inc., is now deceased in a manner that is yet to be disclosed by the coroner. Prior to this event, Mr. Crawford was charged with one count of Murder in the Second Degree, Company Fraud, four counts of Kidnapping, one count of Blackmail, for crimes on separate occasions committed against Kaiba Seto, Kaiba Mokuba, Motou Sugoroku, Motou Yuugi, Cecelia Abigail Crawford – deceased – and Lexus Elisabeth Sorenson on 27 July, in the wider prefecture of Domino City, Honshu._

" _Further proceedings may still be brought against Industrial Illusions, but that remains to be seen. The management of KaibaCorporation remains business as usual, and the remaining victims in the case are now in the safe hands of the law. There will be no further comment at this time."_

After being questioned by police, and having them release my statement to the press, I hoped everybody would get off Kaiba's back – and mine. I needed to haul ass back to Sapporo, without further delay.

"Well, Kaiba, this has been quite an adventure, but I have to get back to Hokkaido before I get myself fired."

He looked perplexed. "But, _I'm_ your boss now."

I laughed. "Have you offered me a job? I still work at Nobita & Associates."

"I can have an employment contract drafted by this afternoon."

"I'm flattered, but, no thank you." I replied. "I've been assigned to another case that I need to be briefed on. No doubt we'll be in touch as to whether you would like to take proceedings further against Industrial Illusions and…any other matters, you might have."

Kaiba looked like he'd just ingested a lemon. For once in his life, he had been rejected, and it didn't look like he enjoyed the taste of it. "No doubt."

"Sayonara, Kaiba-san."

"Wait,"

I turned. "Yes?"

"How much for the Blue Eyes?"

"It's not for sale."

He remained persistent. "Name your price."

I smiled wryly at him. "I guess money can't buy happiness after all. Sorry, Kaiba, but you'll have to duel me for it."

xXx

Kaiba watched the suited woman leave, briefcase in hand, her dark cinnamon hair slightly falling out of its' roll at the back of her head. She made her way toward the glass doors at the entrance of KaibaCorp, and with one final nod of acknowledgement, she disappeared through them. The sheer audacity of her rejection made Kaiba's blood boil. Most things hadn't been hard to come by for Kaiba since he started running this corporation, and he felt thwarted.

The boy twisted his mouth in a muddle, hardly knowing what to make of her, and if hiring her as his attorney was indeed a good idea, in hindsight. But that was his only hook. She had something he wanted, and he would do whatever it took to get his hands on it. Was she friend or foe? Kaiba was ambivalent. But he was also determined.

"I like her, Seto." Mokuba remarked, looking up at his big brother. "She's nice, don't you think?"

"Don't get too chummy just yet, Mokuba."

"Why not?"

Kaiba swivelled on his heel and made his way back into his office. He walked back to the window, where the commotion below was slowly dissipating, and watched the woman leave his building. "We'll be seeing her again, soon enough, but under very different circumstances next time, I can assure you."

"What do you mean?"

"She has something that I want, and I won't rest until I have it."

xXx


	8. Silent Night

**A Conflict of Interest**

 **xXx**

 **Chapter Eight**

 **Silent Night**

"I'm afraid that's impossible, sir."

"What do you mean, impossible? I am your superior, and you do as I say!"

I remained cool-headed. "My sister is coming to stay for her school exchange in two weeks, remember? I can't just up and leave Sapporo, right now."

My boss stayed very silent for a moment. "Then you'll have to arrange for her to transfer schools. You can do that, right?"

I tried not to roll my eyes. "Shacho-san, I can't just up and leave Sapporo for _one_ client. What about my other cases?"

" _Two_ clients, Sorensen. You have KaibaCorporation to see to now," Nobita grunted. "That's _more_ than enough reason to move to Domino City on a permanent basis. Let me worry about the others."

"And what about my sister? All her school arrangements were finalised months ago."

Nobita rubbed his beard in thought. "Very well, then. Let me see what I can do about that."

Later on that day, Nobita came back into my office. I had rather hoped he'd forgotten the whole thing, but, judging by his ruddy cheeks and chuffed expression, I figured this wasn't the case.

"I've made some calls," he said, plopping down on the armchair in the corner of my office. "and I've managed to secure you an apartment in the city. Furthermore, Domino High School has said that they would be happy to take Esther as soon as school starts up again, after Christmas."

"It's Estée."

"Sure, sure, Estée. And Toshio-san said he'd rent your place here, after you're gone. Am I a miracle worker, or what?"

I deadpanned. "If that's what you want to call it."

"Everything is taken care of." He grinned. "You'll just have to arrange to freight your things to your new apartment in January. I'm telling ya, it's spick and span. What's more, you can work out of the KaibaCorp offices, right in the centre of town."

"What?!" I dropped him an incredulous look. "are you _seconding_ me to KaibaCorp?"

"I guess you could say that. Since our client base is expanding in the south, it's good to have some feet on the ground, down there."

"So, just to be clear, once the Hopkins case has wrapped, I'll be working for Kaiba full-time?"

He shrugged. "More or less. What, you're not happy about it?"

"No, I just…" I took off my glasses, trying to comprehend this completely life-altering turn of events. "I guess I wasn't expecting it all to happen so soon."

"Well, kiddo," Nobita said, standing up. "There ain't no one better fit for the job, than you. You'll do the Nobita name proud, I just know it!"

No pressure, I thought. Just when I thought I'd seen the back of KaibaCorp for a while, and – to that end – its sanctimonious CEO, I end up falling straight back into its proverbial lap.

xXx

September, October and November came and went in a blur, and before I knew it, I'd finished up work for the year and was on my way to the airport to collect my little sister, just in time for Christmas. Although, I guess she wasn't _really_ that little anymore, and Japan didn't _really_ celebrate Christmas, but that was beside the point.

It had been a couple of years since I'd seen Estée – in the flesh, at least. Before I left America, she had idolized me, and started taking Japanese when she began high school. Now, three years on from that, she was coming over on a one-year school exchange, and couldn't have been more excited about it. In a way, I think she wanted closure over Cecelia's death, too. Although she didn't remember Cecelia as well as I did – she was only nine when Cecelia passed away – Essie still thought fondly of her as her oldest sister.

Rubbing my mittened hands together, I ran from the car through the icy cold air to the airport terminal to wait for her, but, as soon as I stepped inside, I realised she'd already beaten me to it. There, standing in the arrivals hall with a couple of suitcases in tow, stood a leggy, tired-looking, raven-haired young woman. Good grief, how had she gotten so tall?! The girl was now taller than Cecelia or I had ever gotten. Must have our father's genes, I thought with a smile. As soon as our eyes fell upon each other, I felt my throat close up and advanced toward her.

"Essie!" I cried, throwing my arms around her. "Look at you, you beanpole!"

For a moment she couldn't speak, for she had dissolved into tears, clutching onto me for dear life, her shoulders racking with sobs. After a few moments, we both regained our composure. Her dark blue eyes were bloodshot, but she looked overwhelmed with relief and happiness to see me. "Lexie," she sniffled. "It's been so long! I can't believe I'm finally here!"

We laughed and chatted and rambled all the way home, and all night, too, until Essie was so exhausted she passed out on the couch. I chose not to disturb her; the fire was banked and she would be fine until the morning, so I put a spare duvet over her, and went to bed myself.

The following day was Christmas Eve, so Essie and I decided to go out and get a Christmas tree. By now, she was somewhat over her jetlag and feeling more human again, and was excited at the prospect of a day out seeing some of the sights, including a visit to see the snow monkeys, and a dip in a natural onsen.

Having not seen Essie for almost three years, I came to realise that she was, by all counts, a self-made "weeaboo", or the type of person that was obsessed with everything and anything to do with Japan and the Japanese way of life. Her knowledge of the language and culture was near flawless at this point, and she seemed to be deliriously excited to finally be here and start experiencing things first-hand.

Her first request had been that we go somewhere that made "real" sushi, which I wasn't entirely opposed to, being that I had a love for all things food and wine. Despite conversing mostly in our mother tongue of English, for the most part, she still insisted on throwing in Japanese words into our conversations, such as "kawaii" (especially when we went to see the monkeys), which was borderline embarrassing and, I could tell, was going to get irritating after a while.

The scenery was spectacular at this time of the year when the snow became knee-deep in places, and the city put on an exquisite display with Christmas lights and decorations. It reminded me a lot of when my parents took us to Tivoli Gardens in Denmark, when we were little. Tonight, being Christmas Eve, it looked especially festive, and young families and couples strolled the boulevards, gazing in shop windows and market stalls. Essie noted that she would like to come back later on for some carol singing and hot chocolate.

Essie looked up from her spot kneeling on the floor, decorating the tree, and glanced at me quizzically. "Did you just hear that?"

"Hear what?" I asked from the top of my step-ladder, trying to arrange some fairy lights without strangling myself in the process.

She shrugged. "Never mind. I just thought I heard a plane overhead, or something."

I shrugged too, having not heard anything, and it wasn't until 20 minutes later that a knock at our door startled us both, as we were admiring our handiwork, the tree now finished and scintillating in the light of the fire.

"Were you expecting someone?" Essie queried.

"That, I am not." I frowned, and went to answer it.

Needless to say, I nearly fell down when two young boys – one considerably older and taller than the other – were now standing in my doorway.

"Come on, bro!" Kaiba suddenly pitched forward, as if being pushed from behind. I stepped back, thinking he was about to fall right on top of me, but he caught himself.

"Ugh, Mokuba! Cut it out." Kaiba snapped.

I looked at them in blatant stupidity. "Um…konbanwa…Kaiba-san? Mokuba-chan?"

"Who is it?" Essie called from behind me.

I wasn't sure I wanted her to know – at least not like _this_. "What are you… _doing_ here?" I screwed my eyes shut and shook my head, trying to prove to my disbelieving brain that I wasn't hallucinating. "How do you know where I _live_?"

"We tracked your cell-phone signal via satellite!" Mokuba informed me, enthusiastically.

I was stunned. "That's…not creepy at all…"

"We were on our way home from a business trip in Vladivostok," Mokuba continued, as if he hadn't heard me. "We thought we'd stop by for a visit. Right, nii-san?"

"Onee-chan?" Essie now stood at my shoulder.

Kaiba scratched his head. I don't think I'd ever seen him look so uncomfortable. "We were just…passing through."

"Oh, they speak English!" Essie cried in surprise. "Your English is really good!"

"Yeah, we learnt how to speak English when we were kids!" Mokuba replied, which I found ironic, given that he _was_ still a kid.

"That's so awesome!" Essie clasped her hands together in delight.

I cleared my throat. "Kaiba, Mokuba, this is my sister, Estée. She's come to stay with me on a one-year school exchange."

"You can call me Essie," she replied, warmly.

There was awkward silence for a moment. "W-what brings you both here?" I asked, glancing at Kaiba who barely said a word the whole time.

"We wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas, Lex-senpai!" Mokuba bubbled, and I thought I saw him prod his elder brother in the ribs.

Kaiba winced and, to my utter surprise, bowed in front of me and produced a bottle of what looked to be very expensive French Bordeaux from behind his back. "Uh…this is for you, Lexus-senpai."

I happened to know that the coastal Russian city of Vladivostok was on almost the exact same latitude as Sapporo and, as a result, would simply not have been on their flight path back to Domino, which was much further south, closer to Tokyo. This, together with Kaiba's odd behaviour, perplexed me, but I decided to let it slide and let them both come in out of the cold, taking the wine graciously. Whatever I had done to deserve this, I had no idea.

"Thank you, Kaiba… Uh, I don't really know what to say. This is very kind of you."

Kaiba blinked uncomfortably, and I noticed his fists were balled into a white-knuckled grip. What on Earth was wrong with him?

"How long are you guys staying in Sapporo for?" Essie asked.

Like a broken record, Kaiba said, "We're just passing through."

And, at the same time, Mokuba said, "We're staying the night!"

Essie and I looked at them in confusion given their completely different answers. Mokuba and Kaiba also exchanged confused looks, and for a few excruciating silent moments, we all just stood there like guppies in my living room, not knowing what in the fresh hell was going on.

"So…do you wanna come ice-skating with us, then?" Essie beamed.

I blanched. "Wait, what?"

"Sure!" Mokuba cried eagerly.

"I saw people skating on a frozen lake when we came back through town earlier," Essie shrugged. "We can go to the Christmas markets for hot cocoa after. What do you say?"

Ever the optimist – and by far the more adventurous one of the two of us, when it came to outdoor pursuits – Essie had me cornered. Kaiba and I exchanged impassive glances. Of all the client functions – if you could even _call_ it that – that I had attended, this was sure to be one of the more interesting. Kaiba, himself, seemed even more stumped than I did. I had no idea what in God's name he was thinking even coming here, because obviously it wasn't for business.

"Nii-san? Can we at least stay a little longer before we go home?"

Kaiba sighed. "Mokuba…"

Like his brother, Mokuba was obviously used to getting his way, as well.

"It'll be fun, nii-san, come on!"

Kaiba looked befuddled for a moment, and then snapped back into his more usual demeanour. "We haven't got time, Mokuba. This was meant to be a flying visit."

"We've done the flying part!" the little smart-ass countered. "Pleeeeeease, bro?"

Finally, Kaiba relented. "Fine. But only for a few hours."

xXx

"I'm terrible at this, too, if it makes you feel any better." I said to Kaiba as we were pulling our skates on.

Kaiba grunted. "I haven't done this since I was, like, nine."

Short of looking like intoxicated giraffes trying our hand at ballet on ice, Kaiba and I somehow managed to fumble our way through a few rounds on the rink without doing the splits or pulling any tendons. Mokuba and Essie took to it like ducks to water – naturally – but after fifteen minutes or so, I was done for.

From there, we walked down the snowy boulevards of the city until we got to the Christmas markets, which were not-so-secretly one of my favourite things about this time of the year. There was something about the twinkling lights, mulled wine, carols and beautiful food and decorations on display in the quaint little stalls that gave me the warm fuzzies. Apparently, they had the same effect on Essie, who had gone completely googly-eyed at a stall that sold cakes and pastries that looked so perfect, it was hard to believe they were real. Unable to resist, I bought us each a chocolate-covered strawberry kebab. Given that Japan wasn't a Christian country, I was appreciative that many people still got into the festive spirit at this time of the year.

In what I guessed was an attempt to take the edge off of this rather awkward situation we had found ourselves in, Kaiba came back from a stall with a pitcher of mulled wine and two goblets. Again, I knew he was too young for alcohol, but he clearly did well at hiding his age. Mokuba and Essie joined us with steaming mugs of hot chocolate, and we all took a seat at a wooden table inside an Alpine chalet-style shack, that had a fire crackling in the corner, next to our table. Kaiba poured me a generous goblet and I took it graciously, swigging back several gulps. A few moments later, I felt a lot less agitated.

"Nii-san, can Essie and I go on one of the carnival rides, after this?" Mokuba piped up. "You could get some ideas for stage two of KaibaLand…"

"Kaiba Land?" I asked, my interest piqued.

"Seto owns an amusement park, named after us!" Mokuba replied. "Would you like to go, sometime?"

"Mokuba, I doubt that Lexus-senpai would be interested in going to Kaiba Land." Kaiba grunted.

"Given my irrational fear of heights, you're probably right."

"Well, _I_ would like to go!" Essie said. "Just because my sister is a big chicken, doesn't mean _I_ am!"

Once they'd finished their drinks, Kaiba and I watched Essie and Mokuba run off through the snow, towards what looked like some crazy Christmas-themed rollercoaster. In many ways, my sister was still quite juvenile; I blamed my over-protective parents for that. After Cecelia's death, they hardly let her do anything on her own, and were horrified when I had declared that I was moving to Japan, almost five years ago. Once I was settled here, they very begrudgingly allowed Essie to come for her school exchange, knowing she would be in good hands, with me.

"So, are you going to tell me the _real_ reason why you're here?" I asked, once Kaiba and I were alone.

"There isn't one," he muttered. "We were returning from a business trip in Russia, and Mokuba wanted to see you."

I laughed. "Like I'm supposed to believe _that_. If you're here for my Blue Eyes, then you came an awful long way for nothing."

Kaiba scowled at me. "You sound like even more of a Christmas Grinch than _I_ do."

"I somehow doubt that," I snickered.

"Mokuba enjoys this time of the year, so I do what I can, for him." Kaiba replied. "Christmas Day isn't much fun for an eleven year old, who has no family."

At that, I suddenly felt awful for both of them. "I'm sorry, Kaiba. It can't be easy for you."

"It's not, but…" he trailed off, his eyes going glassy, as if he were recalling a long-ago memory, but just as quickly, he straightened up. "It's just another day of the year. Life goes on."

I sensed that wasn't exactly what he had planned on saying, but I let it go. Kaiba might have a heart of glass, but not where Mokuba was concerned. That much was obvious. I sensed a deep pain in his heart from losing his parents so young, and quite possibly a feeling of resentment from being lumped with the responsibility of raising his younger brother like a father, after Gozaburo's mysterious demise.

"I take it you've heard that I'm moving to Domino, in the New Year?" I said, changing the subject.

He nodded. "Indeed."

"Did you have anything to do with that?" I narrowed my eyes at him.

He side-eyed me. "Perhaps."

"I thought as much."

"It will be more convenient, for the both of us, going forward. Wouldn't you agree?"

"If I'm being paid accordingly, sure." I replied, not really caring where I lived these days, as long as I was being paid well – although, I _had_ grown fond of Sapporo, for some reason. It must have been the weather that reminded me of home, or something.

"What _is_ it with you and this place, anyway?" Kaiba grumbled. "It's a _dump_."

"I'm not really a warm-weather kind of a person."

"Huh. Well, you'd better get used to it. Domino in summer is going to be your idea of _hell_."

"That's still six months away," I dismissed, drawing on the last of my mulled wine. "Come on, let's go find our siblings. I get the feeling your brother is leading my sister astray."

"More like the other way around."

Walking amongst the glowing lights of the winter carnival, with vendors and colourful rides every which way, we eventually found Mokuba and Essie on the carousel, laughing like young children as they went round and round. I was pleased to see that Essie hadn't lost her childlike innocence, although I was equally concerned as to how she was going to assert herself once she started school, here. Japanese high schools were a lot different to American high schools, and the students were burdened by greater responsibilities. Indeed, they were treated more like young adults, than like children. Furthermore, the fact that she was going to be in the same year as _Kaiba_ , unsettled me.

"She looks a lot like you." Kaiba said as we stood there, watching them.

"I don't think so. She's the spit of Cecelia, just with black hair."

"Then you must have looked like triplets."

"Cecelia was the only blonde one." I replied, reminiscently. "I got the boring brown hair."

Kaiba slid his eyes down to me. "Brown hair isn't boring."

I shrugged. "Better than having green hair, I suppose."

Later that night, after we'd returned home, Essie and Mokuba ventured upstairs so that Mokuba could attempt to teach her how to play Duel Monsters, while Kaiba and I remained downstairs, discussing much more mundane topics such as law and business. It began snowing outside again, and, as I was already feeling a little giddy from the mulled wine at the markets, I decided to crack open the bottle of wine that Kaiba had given me, earlier. He didn't seem opposed to the idea of having another drink, although I was internally chastising myself for serving a minor.

As if he knew exactly what I was thinking, Kaiba gave me a pointed look when I returned from the kitchen, one dark eyebrow perfectly arched.

"I know you don't exactly celebrate Christmas, here, but… _we_ do, so why not?" I shrugged, handing him his glass.

Kaiba took a sip. "Not bad."

"I don't know many fifteen year olds that like red wine," I smiled wryly.

"I'm sixteen." He snapped.

I sat down on the couch next to him. "You seem so much older than that, Kaiba."

"I don't have much of a choice."

"Don't you just…want to be a normal teenager, sometimes?"

He folded his arms. "I don't see the point in all that nonsense. We've all got to be adults one day, so why delay the inevitable?"

"There are a lot of great things about being a teenager, though." I replied, thinking about my own teen years, back in upstate New York.

"Like?"

"Like…you can be completely irresponsible and get away with it, most of the time…stay up all night, sleep all day… experience your first love, maybe…" I smiled hazily at him. "Right?"

Kaiba rolled his eyes. "Yeah, none of those things really apply, to me."

"Not even a first love?"

He glared at me, but I could see the blush starting to flare up in his cheeks. " _Especially_ not that."

I laughed. "Oh, come on, Kaiba. Surely there must be _someone_?"

He glared harder and set his wine glass down on the coffee table. "Even if there was, what's it to you?"

"Well, it's none of my business, I guess." I shrugged. "But, it _would_ be reassuring to know that my client isn't just a robot." I teased.

"Speak for yourself."

My mouth dropped open. "I most certainly am _not_ a robot."

"Prove it."

" _You_ prove it!"

Kaiba put his elbow up on the back of the couch, and tilted his head down low by my ear. "And how would you like me to do that, Senpai?" he husked, tucking a snarl of escaped hair back behind my ear.

The dulcet tone of his voice set alarm bells off in my mind. Tipsy as I might have been, I knew that tone all too well.

"K-Kaiba, I was joking…"

"Oh…" he sounded somewhat disappointed. "Well, _I_ wasn't."

With that, Kaiba tucked his thumb under my chin and closed his lips against mine. The wine made him taste like a warm summer day on a French vineyard, and despite the ridiculousness of it all – me, a twenty-three year old lawyer, and him, a sixteen year old multi-billionaire – I felt myself turning to jelly against him. It had been so long since I had been intimate with anyone; one might have even said I was _starved_ of affection. I wondered if Kaiba – in all his handsome youthfulness – could possibly have felt the same.

Our lips moved in perfect unison and I felt an exhilarating rush of wantonness as our tongues glided and melded over each other. Kaiba's stubble bristled against my lips as he kissed me more vigorously than before, creating a delightful friction, before I apparently came to my senses and broke away from him. _God, what am I_ _ **doing**_ _?!_

"Kaiba!?" I spluttered.

Flushed and breathing heavily, we stared at each other, our eyes a reflection of the other's, and I could hardly comprehend how that had just happened. His pupils were dilated in excitement and I could tell he would have liked to have taken it further, if I hadn't just put a stop to it.

He smirked at me, like the cat that had got the cream. "Not a robot, then?"

"N-no…"

"Onee-chan?"

We snapped our heads toward the hallway door, only to see Essie standing there with Mokuba leaning against her, looking like he was about to cark it at any moment. I immediately composed myself, as if Kaiba hadn't just kissed me seconds earlier.

"Yes, Essie?"

"I think Mokuba's ready for bed. Can they stay here tonight?"

I swallowed hard. "Kaiba was just about to leave."

Kaiba cleared his throat and stood up. "Come on, Mokuba. It's time to go home."

"But, nii-san…I want to stay here…"

"It would be no trouble, at all! We have a spare bedroom…" Essie bubbled with pleading eyes.

"Thank you, but, we must get back to Domino." Kaiba replied politely. Oh, so he _did_ know how to turn on the manners, when called for.

With that said, Kaiba scooped the sleepy boy up into his arms and headed for the door. Essie and I followed, and the awkwardness was excruciating.

"Merry Christmas, Kaiba-san, Mokuba-chan." Essie smiled, bowing before both of them. "I guess I'll see you at school, next year?"

"Something like that." Kaiba muttered, indifferently. Then he turned to me. "I'll see you at the office on the sixth."

"You will." I replied, feeling the burn creeping up my neck. "Oyasumi nasai, Kaiba."

He inclined his head. "Goodnight, Senpai."

And, just like that, he was gone. Like the Ghost of Christmas Past, it was like he was never here at all.

xXx


	9. Spring Fever

**A Conflict of Interest**

 **xXx**

 **Chapter Nine**

 **Spring Fever**

"Oh my God, this school uniform is _so_ much cooler than the other one! It's so _kawaii_!"

I looked up from my notes, coffee in hand, to see Essie all but strutting down the stairs in her new Domino High School uniform. Admittedly, she _did_ look cute, in the little blue skirt, white shirt, pink blazer and blue pussy-bow, her shiny black curls bouncing around her shoulders. She cut quite a striking figure, actually, and I felt myself perspire at the thought of what an impression she was going to make on her fellow students. Being foreign would already make her stand out like a sore thumb, and not all Japanese students took kindly to newcomers. The fact that she would also be attending the same school as – ironically – my newest _client_ , did not abate my troubles in the slightest.

"What do you think, onee-chan?"

I tried to smile. "You'll fit right in."

Essie looked at me with a relieved smile. "Thanks, sis. I guess I better go, then."

"You _sure_ you don't want me to walk with you?"

"No, I'll find my way. See you later!" with that, she embraced her me enthusiastically and kissed my cheek, before grabbing her satchel and rushing out the door, leaving me feeling anxiously maternal. Her skirt was _way_ too short to be within school standards, that I was sure of.

I sighed mutedly and walked to the window of my new apartment in Domino City, scanning the world below from the second floor. Indeed, Nobita-san had meant what he had said when he had managed to bag me this apartment – or maybe it had been all of Kaiba's doing, as he had alluded to. Nevertheless, it provided everything that Essie and I could possibly need, and was in a superb location right in the centre of town. Essie was able to walk to school, and I was only a stone's throw away from the KaibaCorp tower, from where I was now working out of.

The move from Sapporo had gone fairly smoothly, and the Christmas and New Year holidays were now well behind us. The first blossoms of spring were just starting to unfurl, and both Essie and I noticed the marked change in temperature. The temperate climate of Domino was far milder than the frigid reaches of Sapporo, where we had been all but entombed in snow, which wouldn't have started to melt until March or April, at the earliest. Essie had begun her school exchange in the spring, to give her time to settle into Japanese life and so I could take her to some of the sights. So far, we had been to Tokyo and Kyoto, before I had to be back at work. Now that Essie was about to have her first day at school, she was eager to plunge right in and start putting her years of studying Japanese to good use.

I, on the other hand, had been working my cases out of the KaibaCorp office for almost six weeks, now, and had familiarised myself with the city as much as I could. The most important things that I needed to know were where the Courts were and how I was best to go about going between there, the office, and home. Luckily, I could walk most places, but occasionally I had to get a train. On this particular day, I was going to be meeting with my client regarding the child custody case, which had had a freeze put on it since last October. Apparently, the two parties had tried to settle out of court, but, in the end, could not come to any kind of remediation.

And, as far as Seto Kaiba and "that" night went – well…I had tried to put the whole fiasco right out of my head – and earnestly hoped that Kaiba had done the same.

"Professor Hopkins?"

An elder gentleman stood up from his seat on one of the couches in the reception waiting area, seemingly sprightly for his age. "That would be me. Please, do call me Arthur."

I extended my hand. "It's nice to hear an English voice," I smiled. "I'm Lexus Sorenson, one of Nobita's associates. He has assigned me to work on this matter for you. Please, come through to my office."

I led my client down the corridor to my office, which was on the 3rd floor – at my request, given my extreme phobia of heights – and faced out toward the city. Once the pleasantries were said and done, I got right down to it.

"Arthur, firstly, I want to extend my condolences to you, having lost your son and daughter-in-law. You must be going through the motions, and to have proceedings like these brought on you at such a time…well, it speaks volumes about the kind of person your niece is, trying to take custody of your granddaughter, like this."

The professor nodded and hung his head a little. "Thank you. It has been one of the more difficult times of my life…but I have no doubt that Rebecca and I will get through this, together."

I put on my reading glasses and found the questionnaire I had been looking for. "I'm going to need to ask you some questions, Arthur. Some of them may seem invasive, and I apologise for that, but if you want the best shot at winning custody of your granddaughter, then I'm going to need to know as much as possible on your background, and your relationship with her. This conversation will also be recorded."

The professor nodded. "Very well."

"Alright, then." I pressed the button down on my tape recorder. "This is the first interview with Professor Arthur Hopkins – the time is 1.10pm, 18 February 1998. Now, Professor, I believe that your son and his wife did not have written Wills at the time of their deaths, is that correct?"

"That's right." Arthur replied, his voice wavering slightly.

"Therefore, the Court in America appointed you as Rebecca's legal guardian?"

"Yes."

I leant back in my chair. "Tell me about Rebecca. How old is she? What are her interests?"

"Well…" Arthur scratched his chin. "Rebecca has just turned twelve. She's a bright young thing; too bright for her own good, sometimes, I think. Her main interest is playing Duel Monsters; as it stands, she's the reigning American Champion."

I tried to hide my surprise, at that. "Interesting… What is your relationship with Rebecca like?"

"I've always tried to be there for her, to be an active part in her life. In fact, I was the one that got her into playing Duel Monsters, in the first place. She took to it like a duck to water, and I was happy to coach her. I have retired from the game, myself, but having a common interest meant that we became quite close, I suppose you could say, more so over the past three years."

"And what brought you to Japan, Professor?"

"An old friend of mine lives here – Sugoroku Mutou. I came to visit him, and eventually, we ended up staying. Rebecca likes it here, and Domino is the place to be, when it comes to Duel Monsters. She'll have a bright future, here, I just know it."

I smiled wryly. "That's Yuugi Mutou's grandfather, isn't it?"

"Why yes, do you know him?"

"No, but, you could say that I am acquainted with Yuugi. Now, let's continue."

The interview went on like this for some time, until I was satisfied that I had extracted all the information out of Professor Hopkins that I would need to start putting together my case for the court. It was obvious that Arthur adored his granddaughter and had her best interests at heart, but whether that was enough to sway the court, was another matter entirely.

Later that evening – probably _too_ late, for me to still be at work, anyway – a tall shadow appeared in the doorway of my office. I glanced up, with jaded blue eyes, to see Kaiba standing there.

"Shouldn't you be gone, by now?" he asked, brows furrowed, as he leant against the doorframe.

"Shouldn't _you_?"

"I've had quite an interesting evening." Kaiba said, ignoring me as he took a seat opposite my desk.

"Is that so?" I replied indifferently, going back to my paperwork.

"Don't you want to hear about it?"

"Not particularly."

Kaiba chuckled. "Humour me."

I sighed and took off my glasses, rubbing my eyes. "Kaiba, I have work to do. Can't this wait?"

"Isis Ishtar, from the Supreme Council of Egyptian Antiquities in Cairo, invited me personally to the Domino City Museum tonight." he stated. "She gave me _this_." He flicked a duel monster card onto my desk.

I glanced at it and put my glasses back on, scrutinizing the card. "What is this? Is it…?"

"That's right; it's Obelisk the Tormentor. An Egyptian _God_ card." Kaiba interlaced his fingers, the excitement evident in his voice.

"Pegasus created these cards, and then tried to destroy them…" I said, more to myself than to Kaiba. "The last I heard, they were lost somewhere in Egypt."

"Apparently, there are two other God cards yet to be recovered." Kaiba added. "Ms. Ishtar has requested me to hold another duel monsters tournament, in order to get them back."

I frowned. "For what purpose?"

"According to her…the world is in danger of history repeating itself…or something." Kaiba replied, nonchalantly. "I didn't pay much attention, to that part. More to the point, by holding this tournament, I will finally have the chance to beat Yuugi Mutou. If I can acquire the other two God cards, there's no _way_ he will be able to stand up to me!"

I raised one eyebrow in scepticism. "And what makes you think the other two God cards are going to make their way from Egypt to Domino?"

"Whoever has those cards in their possession _must_ be an elite duellist." Kaiba contemplated. "This tournament will be an open invitation to the world's most skilled duellists. If they want to win Obelisk, then they'll have to front up against _me_."

"What do you mean…'win Obelisk'?"

Kaiba grinned artfully at me. "I've already decided on one of the rules of my tournament. Whoever wins the match, gets to take the loser's rarest card."

I slid the card back to him. "Whatever blows your dress up, Kaiba."

"What? You're not interested?" he grunted, looking almost offended. "Don't you _want_ a rematch, against me?"

It was my turn to laugh. "It's not that, Kaiba. I don't have _time_ for fun and games, anymore. My purpose for duelling is over, now. My sister is dead, Pegasus is dead…end of." I shrugged, opening my palms. "I'm just a lawyer, now."

Kaiba looked dissatisfied. "But, you have a Blue Eyes…"

"And I intend on _keeping_ it that way."

"I do admit, you have a strong deck." Kaiba said, closing his eyes and folding his arms. "You would be a formidable opponent for anybody to face up to. Don't you _want_ a shot at the glory? Of being crowned the world's best duellist?"

"You can't _make_ me enter your tournament, Kaiba." I replied sternly, not falling for his flattery. "Besides, it already sounds like you've crowned _yourself_ as the king of Duel Monsters."

"Fine." He quipped, and stood up to leave. "You'll have three months to think about it, for the tournament kick-off date will be the first of July. And, just so you know – I _will_ have that Blue Eyes, one way or another!"

With a dramatic flick of his purple trench coat, Kaiba departed my office, Obelisk the Tormentor in hand.

And I bet that's not _all_ you want, I thought dryly as I watched him leave. I contemplated the conversation we'd just had. If what Yuugi and his cohorts claimed to be was true – about the spirit of an ancient Egyptian Pharaoh residing within Yuugi's puzzle – then this Ishtar woman must surely have something to do with all of this. How had she managed to get her hands on one of the God cards, when all of them were supposedly lost? And why would she then give it to _Kaiba_ , of all people? Perhaps it was an incentive for going to the trouble of hosting a tournament, which was no small feat. But for what purpose? It was going to take months of planning, but the fact that Kaiba had already set himself a deadline didn't surprise me in the slightest. He was nothing, if not disciplined.

Well then, I thought as I gathered up my documents to put into my briefcase, for later reading. Something tells me, I am in for yet another Duel Monsters-related adventure, whether I like it or not.

xXx

"Onee-chan!"

Essie burst through my office door, completely out of breath, looking flushed and sweaty. Her hair looked like a bird's nest, her eyes were streaming from allergies, and her shirt was half undone. Yes, it was springtime in Domino and the humidity was oppressive.

"Hanami Matsuri is on tonight! Can we go? Oh, please, can we?!"

"Essie, slow down," I chuckled.

"What's all the racket in here?" Kaiba suddenly appeared at the door. "Oh, it's _you_."

"Yes, it's _me_ , Kaiba," Essie spat back.

The two, I had noticed, had developed a somewhat love-hate relationship, of late. I wasn't sure what Kaiba's game was, or Essie's for that matter. Perhaps I needed to have a chat with her later, about that.

"This area is for authorised personnel, only!" Kaiba shouted, pointing an accusing finger at her. "I suggest you leave unless you want me to personally escort you off of my property."

"Oh, get a life! This is my sister's office, and she doesn't _just_ work for _you_ , if I am not mistaken?" Essie quipped back.

"This entire premises is private property; you're effectively trespassing, right now, _abazure_."

"Give the dog a bone, Kaiba," I rolled my eyes. "Essie, calm down. What _is_ it with you two, lately?"

Essie glared daggers at Kaiba. "He's just being a _yarou_ – as usual! I don't know how you can _stand_ to work for this guy, onee-chan!"

"You're on my turf right now, _gaijin_ , so I would consider what you say around me more carefully."

"Uggghhh!" she lamented exasperatedly. "See what I _mean_!"

"Cut it out, _both_ of you. You're going to give me a migraine." I sighed. Goddamn teenagers and their wild mood swings… "Essie, there are plenty of Hanami festivals happening, right now. Which one are you talking about?"

"It's the one at Shinkai Park, you know, near our house?" she beamed, her eyes glossy. "Oh please, sis? Can we go? You have a yukata, don't you? We can dress up! It'll be so _fun_!"

Given that this would be her first formal 'outing', at night, she gave me no other choice but to go with her. There was no way in hell I was about to let her go by herself, not in this town. I weighed up my options. I had planned on working late tonight, but…perhaps it could wait. Tomorrow also happened to be Essie's seventeenth birthday, for which I had bought a hand-made traditional yukata, as a present, but perhaps she could have it a day early.

I gazed across at her calmly. "Alright."

"…wh-what?"

"I said, alright."

"You're agreeing? We can go?!" she looked stunned.

"Yes, Essie, we can go." I emphasized, snapping my laptop shut and throwing my blazer over one arm. "Let's go."

"Oh… _aishiteru onee-chan_!" Essie squealed, throwing her arms around my neck as I made my way to the door. "It's going to be so fun! Yuugi-san and Anzu-chan and all the rest of my friends are going to be there, too. Anzu even gave me a yukata to borrow!"

I halted at the door as Kaiba apparently refused to move. "You going to barricade us in here, or something?"

"Don't you have work to do?"

"Don't _you_?"

Reluctantly, he stood aside. "I expect you'll be here, tomorrow."

"Unlikely!" Essie answered for me. "It's my birthday tomorrow, Kaiba, and _you're_ not invited! Mokuba can come if he wants, though…"

"Sorry," I shrugged. "I said I'd take her to Tokyo Disney, so…"

He rolled his eyes and made that predictable 'hnph' sound. "Whatever, then."

I tried not to laugh. "Do you want to come to the Matsuri, tonight?"

"I have work to do, unlike _some_ of us." he retorted. "Have fun playing _dress-ups_."

xXx

"That's quite enough, Essie," I said, swatting her hand away from my head. "If you fuss any more over my hair, we're going to miss the festival."

"Just one more clip, and we'll be done, I promise!" she replied, and I felt something dangly slide into my hair. "There!"

I glanced at myself in the mirror and stifled a sigh. When I'd first arrived in Japan, my host family had insisted on immersing me in the traditional way of Japanese life. One of the many gifts they had bought for me was the yukata I was currently wearing – dark blue with large red flowers all over it. To be fair, it set off my eyes and the flowers gave my pallid complexion some colour, so, admittedly, it did look beautiful.

Essie had kept my hair pulled up and away from my face, the way I usually wore it, but had adorned it with some sparkly clips and pins. She had also insisted on touching up my makeup. I remembered that Cecelia had often let Essie do whatever she wanted to her, when we were children, whereas I had usually tried to resist her advances. Essie and Cecelia were by far more feminine than I was, growing up, preferring to play dolls and dress-ups, whereas I was more likely to be found climbing trees and playing with Tonka trucks.

"What do you think?" Essie asked, a hopeful look in her eyes.

"I think you've done a great job," I smiled, glancing at my tarted-up reflection in the mirror. "Now, there's something I want to give you."

Essie looked confused as I walked to my duchess and opened the bottom drawer, pulling out a delicately-wrapped package. "Is this an early birthday present?" she asked.

"Yes. Happy birthday, Imouto."

Essie unlaced the ribbon and tore off the paper, revealing the pale pink silk underneath. The yukata was embroidered with cherry blossoms in a slightly darker pink silk.

"Oh my Kami! It's so beautiful!" Essie shrieked, unfolding the garment before her, stars in her eyes. "Arigatou gozaimasu, onee-chan!"

I just about had the wind knocked out of me as she launched herself at me in an asphyxiating hug. "Alright, alright! Don't start crying or you'll ruin your make up."

A short time later, we found ourselves walking the wide streets of Domino City, toward the festival. The sakura trees were in full bloom, and it was humming with tourists and festival-goers alike, many of them dressed in traditional garb. Despite the oppressive humidity, everyone seemed to be in festive spirits, taking photos of the beautiful blooming trees and lanterns that had been strung up, glowing softly. Before long, we had arrived at Shinkai Park and were waiting for Essie's friends from school to arrive. I felt oddly nervous about seeing Yuugi Motou and his gang, again, but I supposed it only was due to the fact that things had been very different, the last time I'd seen them.

"Oh, there they are!" Essie cried. "Hey, Yuugi-san!"

I smiled as the pint-sized boy and his crew made their way toward us. "Hey, Essie-chan! And…Reiko Sorensen?!"

"Hi, Yuugi."

"Hey, it's Suit Girl!"

I sighed. "Hello, Jounouchi."

"You guys know each other, or something?" the blond boy queried.

"Essie is my sister," I smiled. "I thought you would have known that, by now."

"She never said anything," Yuugi replied, still seemingly stunned. "I guess I should have made the connection with your surname."

I glanced over to my sister, who was making acquaintances with Anzu Mazaki. They appeared to be gushing over each other's outfits. Anzu looked quite lovely, herself, in an apricot-coloured yukata with white blossoms on it. Another young girl, with long blueish-mauve hair, tied back in a ponytail, had joined them, wearing a lilac-coloured yukata, and Honda was not being subtle about his appreciation of her.

"Ehh, what'd I tell ya? I _knew_ she'd come back to Domino." Jounouchi gloated. "Not enough happening in Sapporo, huh, Reiko?"

"I wouldn't say that," I replied. "It wasn't really my decision, to move here. But…I'm glad we came."

"Whaaatever; you just wanted to come back for a rematch in a duel against me!" Jounouchi banged his chest in emphasis. "You know, all you gotta do is ask, Reiko…"

"Don't flatter yourself, kid."

"Hey! I ain't no kid!"

"So, why _are_ you back in Domino, Reiko?" Yuugi asked.

"I've…had to relocate, for work." I said, not really sure how much I wanted these kids to know that I now, essentially, worked for Kaiba.

"Oh, well, it's great to have you back!" Yuugi chirped, and I thought I saw the Sennen Puzzle glow, as if somehow in agreement, but it could have been my imagination.

Once everyone had arrived, we hustled through the crowds to find a spot to get some food. Essie was particularly fond of takoyaki, and, since it was her first festival, everyone agreed that she should get to pick where we eat. She picked a takoyaki food stall, as I predicted, and once we all had our trays of food, we found a place to sit under a sakura tree, its boughs heavily laden in thick pink blossoms.

"So, you heard anything more about these rumours of another Duel Monsters tournament, Yuug'?" Jounouchi asked, in between mouthfuls of the crispy, deep-fried octopus balls.

"Nah," Yuugi responded. "Grandpa has usually got his finger on the pulse with these kinds of things, but he hasn't heard anything new, lately."

"If anyone was going to hold another tournament, I'd pick it would be Kaiba." Bakura pitched in. "You know, with his company, and all…"

"He does seem to have been missing classes at school a lot lately, now that I come to think of it…" Yuugi replied. "Maybe he's working on something?"

"Oh – well, my sister would know! She _works_ for Kaiba, now." Essie said with an emphatic eye-roll. So much for keeping my job secret, anymore…

"Wait, what!?" Jounouchi cried, whipping around to face me. "You _work_ for that skinny rich bastard?"

"Estée! I didn't want anyone to know that." I hissed, in English.

She narrowed her eyes at me. "Why not? Why would they care?"

"Because now they're going to interrogate me! No one is meant to know about this tournament, yet – it's top secret."

She pouted. "Well, how was _I_ meant to know that?!"

"You weren't, I'm sorry. I just know how your friends – and you – feel about Kaiba, and I didn't want it to upset anyone, but it seems it's too late for that, now…"

Jounouchi looked like he was about to combust. "What are they saying?! Bakura, translate for us!"

"Oh, really, I don't think it's my place to say…" Bakura hurriedly turned a blind eye.

"Reiko, are you Kaiba's lawyer, now?" Anzu asked.

"Is he planning something?" Yuugi added, his eyes large with curiosity.

"Sort of, and…maybe." I squirmed a little. "I'm not at liberty to say any more than that."

"You know what, this might not be _such_ a bad thing…" Jounouchi declared. "We now have our very own snitch at KaibCorp! Come on Reiko, give us the dirt!"

"Yeah!" Honda cheered. "What's that snake got planned? Tell us!"

Christ, these kids really knew _nothing_ about the corporate world, I thought with a sigh. "Look…I know that this might all sound like fun and games to you guys, since Kaiba is your classmate, and all, but I'm legally bound not to talk. Client confidentiality, and all that."

"Ah _man_! You're just like another one of his goons!" Jounouchi accused, falling backwards.

"Only _hotter_!" Honda added, and I just about fell backwards, myself.

Later on, after Essie insisted we did some shopping for souvenirs, we gathered around the park's central lake to watch the fireworks display. I was enjoying watching the vivid display of colours, exploding in the sky like bombs of glitter, when I felt a tall, familiar presence behind me.

"You're looking distinctly un-robot-like tonight," I could feel his breath on my neck. "Robots don't wear yukatas, last time I checked."

I blushed. "I didn't think you were coming."

"That depends on the context."

"Kaiba…!"

"Come with me,"

Before I had a second to react, Kaiba had me by the arm and was pulling me through the trees. We stumbled into a glade with few other people, and tucked in behind the trunk of a large tree, out of sight of the others. Moths and damselflies hovered around the lanterns, in the humid heat of the night. The scent of cherries hung heavily in the air.

"Kaiba! What are you doing? Essie is going to notice that I've gone, any second now." I breathed, my eyes wild.

"It doesn't matter," he replied, pressing me lightly against the tree. "We won't be long…"

I looked up at him, his eyes a luminous indigo in the light of the lanterns, and a feeling of both dread and delight filled the pit of my stomach. As Kaiba's lips closed over mine, I felt something give way inside of me, like the moment a mountainside fractures, before the avalanche comes thundering down.

I had been able to hold it together this far, trying to push down these ridiculously muddled emotions that had been roiling inside of me, since Christmas Eve last year. I knew that whatever 'this' was, needed to be nipped in the bud, sooner rather than later. But as of this moment, feeling as weak as a calf as Kaiba's tongue rolled against mine, I was, in all probability, encouraging it, rather than quashing it.

"Kaiba…we can't _do_ this," I choked, as we pulled away.

"Too late for that, Senpai," he husked. "we _are_."

"You must cease this _recklessness_! I could lose my job, Kaiba…you're my _client_ , for God's sake!"

He narrowed his eyes into blue slits. "Why do you care about any of that?"

I pushed him away, trying to regain my self-control. "Because – you're sixteen, and I'm twenty-three, maybe?"

"Huh…I thought you were at least 25." His hands were on my waist as he lowered his head to my ear. "Tell me again why that matters?"

"Oh, I don't know…that minute detail that I'm your _lawyer_."

"Oh, please." He rolled his eyes in his usual devil-may-care attitude. "I am Seto _Kaiba_ ; do you really think anyone's going to try and challenge _me_ when it comes to my personal choices?"

"Perhaps not you, Kaiba, but I have to protect myself and _my_ reputation. Don't you understand? If this ever gets out…my name as a credible lawyer will be tarnished, forever."

" _Reiko-Senpai! Hey, you down there?"_

" _Onee-chan? Where are you!?"_

Kaiba exhaled unhappily. "If there's one thing you should know about me, Lexus, it's that I _always_ get what I want."

I scoffed. "Is that a _threat_?"

"Take it any way you like."

"I'm not an _object_ , Kaiba."

" _Onee-chan? Are you down here?"_

Kaiba's eyes flashed in the moonlight. "I never said you were. Come on; those geeks are looking for you."

As we emerged from the trees, I noticed that Mokuba had joined Yuugi and his posse. I composed myself, smoothing down the creases in my yukata, hoping that the makeup Essie had applied earlier was disguising my flaming face, and went to join them. Kaiba, coolly, followed suit.

"Where did you get to?" Essie asked with concern.

"I needed to find the restrooms, but I got lost. I ran into Kaiba, on my way back."

"Delightful." She deadpanned.

"Hey, it's Moneybags! Where'd he come from?"

"Seto decided to knock off early, so we could come see the fireworks!" Mokuba chirruped. "Ain't that right, bro?"

"Something like that." Kaiba muttered. "Show's over now, though. Let's go, Mokuba."

"Aw man, already? Can't we go get ice-cream, or something?"

"You know, that's not a bad idea," Yuugi said in agreement. "It _is_ a hot night, after all."

"I could go some ice-cream, too!" Anzu said in agreement.

"Me three!" Honda hollered.

"Looks like you're outnumbered, bro!"

"Fine." Kaiba glanced at me. "You coming?"

I folded my arms. "'That depends on the context'."

Kaiba couldn't contain the amused smirk that broke out on his face. "Hn, touché."

xXx

It was getting on to eleven o'clock, by the time everyone had had their fill at the ice-cream parlour, and then parted ways. I opted for a pear sorbet, not being a huge ice-cream fan myself, whereas Essie and Mokuba both ordered a banana split, with all the trimmings. Needless to say, by the time we were done, they were both looking rather green.

"Do you guys want a ride home?" Mokuba asked.

"No need," I replied. "Our apartment is only a five minute walk, from here."

"Then at least let us walk you?"

"You're such a gentleman, Mokuba," Essie gushed as she linked arms with him. "Unlike your _brother_."

Kaiba barely batted an eyelash as we took up pace down the street. I felt strangely awkward walking next to him, given the earlier events of the evening. How the hell had it happened, that this teenage business tycoon had developed a _crush_ on me? It was _completely_ absurd. There was absolutely no way that this could ever eventuate into anything…

"Hey, what's that smell?" Mokuba stopped to sniff the air.

I stopped to sniff, as well. "Smoke. Something must be on fire…"

"Oh my God…" Essie whimpered, and we all looked in her direction. "Lexie, look! Is that our apartment building?!"

I felt my stomach lurch as a wave of nausea hit me. "Come on!"

xXx


End file.
